Truths, Lies and Alibis
by Eternally Addicted
Summary: FBI psychologist Bella Swan is being stalked by one of criminals she helped put behind bars. Forced to leave her home and lay low for a while, she meets the most gorgeous man she has ever seen. Is he who he says he is, or is he working for the stalker?
1. Haunted

**Hello everyone and happy Friday! First I have to say that I am completely blown away by the support you have shown me. You guys are all truly the best and I am excited to see what you think of the new adventure I have planned for our favorite fictional couple. This story will be a little different than the last one. I got part of the idea for this story from a book I read and thought it would make a great adventure to take the gang on. So in addition to some romance and drama, I'm throwing in a little mystery as well. **

**I have been lucky enough to bring Hope4more along with me again. For some reason she is crazy enough to want to do this with me again. She is an amazing friend that I cherish and I am happy to have her along for the ride. I have also been fortunate enough to be given tips, suggestions and advice from My Bella and her help is also greatly appreciated.**

**One thing that has changed this time is that I now have a blog-site. I will post teasers to upcoming chapters there as well as pictures and links relating to the story. So come on over and check it out at, **http:/eternallyaddicted(dot)blogspot(dot)com/ **Don't forget to remove the word dot and replace it with a period. **

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. And Of course just in case that doesn't cover it, Stephenie Meyer owns anything and everything relating to Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended. **

**Now on with the story. Enjoy!**

_Long lost words whisper slowly to me  
Still can't find what keeps me here  
When all this time I've been so hollow inside  
I know you're still there_

_Watching me, wanting me  
I can feel you pull me down_

_Haunted by Evanescence _

**~* BPOV*~**

_May 13, 2010_

"Damn it, Isabella, I'll suspend you if you don't willingly take a leave of absence," Special Agent McCarty snarled at me. I snorted and smiled at his attempt to threaten me by using my full name.

Pacing back and forth across the room, I gathered my thoughts in a last ditch effort to get my boss to let me help with this investigation. "Look, Emmett, I helped put this scumbag away, I've been inside his head. Don't you think that gives me an advantage over everyone else? And what's with the Isabella shit? You know I am beyond letting that get to me. I'm not some child you can easily intimidate."

"No maybe not, but as your superior, it's my responsibility to do what's best for this unit. That includes not unnecessarily risking the safety of my agents. You might have an advantage, but that is not enough of a reason to risk your safety in my opinion. Especially when you are his target. Reynolds is a sick motherfucker, Bella, you more than anyone know that, and until we find out if he is the one sending that shit to you or if he has an accomplice, I want you as far away from here as possible."

My problem was I knew Emmett was right. As much as I hated to admit it, I was the last person who should be trying to investigate whether or not James Reynolds had indeed acquired an accomplice. I was too close to the situation and too emotionally involved, given the fact I was the one who was being targeted by him. But another fact to consider was that I was also the one who was best trained to handle this sort of investigation. Reynolds was trying to manipulate me into thinking he had the upper hand. He wanted to punish me for having the gift to read him and see through every lie he had told in trying to prove his innocence in the brutal murders he had been convicted of and was now facing the death sentence for. I should have never told him his time was up; that the game was over once the conviction had been handed down. He took it as a challenge and not long after I began receiving boxes of apples in the mail each containing a cryptic message. The first message had read, _My darling, Isabella, you consume all my thoughts. _The one a couple of weeks ago, _My darling, Isabella, One day you will be mine _and the last one simply said, _It won't be long now_.

I walked around the edge of my desk and sunk into my chair. I knew that there was no way of getting out of the unwanted vacation that was being thrust upon me. Sighing in defeat I turned my gaze to meet the person staring intently at me, waiting for me to agree to his demands.

"Bella, you know I'm right. Just agree now and make this easier on us both," Emmett pleaded while pushing his fingers together to form a steeple at his chin.

Not wanting to say the words out loud, I simply nodded in acquiescence.

"I'll go get the paperwork started. Do you have any idea where you'll go, you know, just in case?" I knew he hated this as much as I did. Not only was he my boss, but he and his wife Rosalie had become some of my closest friends, which only made his concern for my safety increase tenfold.

My grandmother's home on the island of Capri immediately popped into my head. I hadn't been there since I was a little girl. Surely leaving the country and going halfway around the world to Italy would be far enough away. I couldn't help but smile when I thought about how ecstatic Nana would be to see me.

"Yes actually I do. Italy is rather nice this time of year and the food is amazing."

"Italy? Bella, humor me for a minute, what the hell is in Italy?"

"Well it's actually a small island off the coast, Capri. My grandmother lives there."

"Your grandmother? How come you never told me you had family living in such a great place?" he asked.

I snickered as I explained, "You know me Emmett. I try to keep my personal life very private. I just never thought to mention her. She comes here every Christmas to spend the holidays with us and for as long as I can remember she has been hounding me to come spend some time with her at her home. Maybe now is the right time to finally do that."

"I think it's perfect. Is there anything you need to finish up before you can leave? Any cases you got hanging that need to be wrapped up, anything you might need a couple of days to finish up here?" he asked as he pulled the door open and stood waiting for my reply.

"Um, no actually I just have some paper work to write up and some files to seal and put away. I should have that taken care of by the end of the day today."

Three hours later I was in Emmett's office and signing the papers for my involuntary, voluntary leave of absence. As I put my John Hancock on the last line, I thought about a request I wanted to ask of Emmett, but was hesitating a bit.

"What's on your mind, Swan, I can see your gears grinding so hard, I'm expecting smoke to be shooting out your ears any second."

"So, I was wondering if I could make a small request about this investigation. Two actually," I muttered just barely loud enough for him to hear me.

"Depends, I am not going to make any promises until I know what you want first," he said as he signed his own name to the papers that would officially send me on a personal leave of absence for an undetermined amount of time.

"Well for starters, I was wondering if you would keep me up to date on any progress. I know you want me to be safe, but I am going to go crazy not knowing what's going on. This does concern me so I just want to be kept up to speed."

"I think that is within reason. As long as you promise to stay put, I have no problem with that. You said two. What's the other one?" he asked.

Chewing on my bottom lip, I met his gaze and inquired, "If this investigation starts turning up nothing but dead ends, will you let me get involved? You know I will be able to get a read on him like no one else. So if doing things your way gets the department nowhere, will you at least promise to give my involvement serious consideration?"

"Only as a last resort, Bella. It will have to be a matter of not having any other choice left."

"Okay." I may have conceded for now, but this was just one small battle, not the war. I kept my gaze directed on his; I wanted him to know that I wasn't going to back down completely just because for now it might be the safest thing to do. I, more than anyone, had the right to protect myself and if doing things his way didn't work, I wanted other options.

I got up and left his office to get my laptop and a few other things before I left. Making my way to the door, I flipped the light switch and after turning the lock on the knob, I pulled the door shut behind me. As I walked through the office a few other agents bid me well wishes and said to have a great time on my vacation. The entire group I worked with in our department was aware of the reason for my departure. Seth was second in command behind Emmett and he would be the one to head up this investigation. Working with him would be Jake and Sam. While Emmett and Seth were being assisted by the two of them, no one else in the office knew exactly where I'd be and it would only be disclosed in the case of dire need. The remainder of our team, Jessica and Tyler, were knee deep in another case and wouldn't be called in unless needed.

However, everyone knew who James Reynolds was; it was the most recent case the entire team had been involved in together. I had been right smack in the middle of it and had been most crucial to his conviction. We all basically had one foot stuck in each other's cases, so to speak, but it was simply to be aware of the facts in order to report anything useful that might come to our attention. Like a system of cross referencing and information sharing.

I waved goodbye to everyone and told them to be safe as I left the series of offices where we were located on the thirty-fifth floor of the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building in downtown Seattle. I then walked down the corridor to the elevator. It didn't go unnoticed by me that Jake had been nowhere in sight. For this I was grateful. He was constantly hitting on me and begging me to go out with him. I knew without a doubt that was something I'd never do and it amazed me that he didn't know why. He knew that I was more than just your everyday, standard FBI psychologist. My abilities went far beyond that and the fact that he continued the charade he did was completely annoying. Did I trust him in his line of work? Yes. He was a capable agent but that was as far as it went.

I heard the elevator approaching the floor and as the doors slid open I barely held in the groan I wanted to let out upon seeing Jacob Black standing in the elevator. Expecting him to exit the small space, I was surprised when he pushed the button for the parking garage and remained inside. I sighed and leaned against the cold stainless steel wall with my arms crossed in front of me. Not wanting to engage in conversation with him, I focused on the geometric shapes of the well-worn carpet on the elevator car floor, only once briefly glancing at the illuminated numbers on the button panel to see how many more floors there were to go.

"So this is it? You're off to frolic on a beach somewhere while we figure out what the bad guy wants." He chided with such a pompous disregard for my feelings that I wanted to smack the smirk right off his face.

"You know I wouldn't be going if I had any other choice," I sneered at him.

He moved to stand directly in front of me. When he saw I wasn't going to back down and cower under his glare, he leaned forward placing his hands on the wall next to my head, thus trapping me between his arms. With his nose barely an inch from mine he stared me in the eyes and chided, "You know, you could always come home with me and be a good little girl. I promise to protect you and not let the big bad wolf eat you."

Turning on the sweet little girl charming act, I raised my hand and placed it gently on his cheek. He turned his face to place a kiss on my palm and as he did so I fought the urge to vomit in his face. Instead I smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, Jake, you'd do that for me?"

"You know I would, Isabella. How many times have I tried to convince you to go out with me," he crooned.

_God his breath is rancid. What the hell did he eat for lunch?_

I glanced quickly at the number panel and saw there were only two more floors to go. I knew I would have to call Emmett as soon as I got in the car and fill him in on why I did what I was about to do.

"You know, Jake, if I was a normal girl who needed a big bad body guard to protect her, your offer might be truly enticing, but again I am finding myself having to remind you that you really need to learn to take no for an answer."

The door dinged and the sound set off a chain of events that played out as smoothly as a choreographed dance. In the first few moments, it seemed time itself had slowed to watch me work. The doors rattled as they started to separate … My palms touched the scratchy fabric of his suit jacket … A victory smile spread across his face. Suddenly time seemed to speed back up and light from the garage overheads began to spill into the elevator cabin as my fingers clamped down on his shoulders, finding purchase and granting me the leverage I needed to raise my leg and bury my knee in his balls. Shoving him away I left the small confines of the elevator, my heels tapping against the concrete seconds before his body hit the elevator floor and shook the cabin.

I turned around as I stood at the door opening with my hand on it to prevent it from closing before I had my say. "Back the fuck off. Don't make me tell you again," I growled before pushing the button with the number thirty-five on it to send him back up.

Emmett hadn't been thrilled when I'd told him what I'd done, but he had understood why I had done it.

_May 15, 2010_

As the ferry pulled into the port, I breathed in the fresh salty scent of the ocean as I scanned the area looking for the familiar face of my Nana. It didn't take long for my eyes to pinpoint the one I was seeking. My Nana, Carmen Bacherelli, my maternal grandmother, was standing by the rail of the port holding a colorful umbrella over her head to shade it from the hot afternoon sun. Next to her was a young man who was probably close to my age that I didn't recognize. She introduced the young man as Lucca, the grandson of her dear friend Irina. While doing so she was quick to mention that he was very single. I rolled my eyes at her as Lucca held the car door open and grandma climbed in first.

Just as Lucca was about to close the door behind me, he flashed me a toothy smile and said, "Your grandmother has told me so much about you. I hope we can get to know each other better while you enjoy your stay on the island."

Not wanting to be rude and face a possible scolding from my grandmother, I gave him a weak smile to acknowledge I had heard him, while praying not to encourage him and get his hopes up. Sitting down in the back seat of the car, all I could do was shake my head at my grandmother as she held my hand and patted the top of it stating what a nice boy Lucca was.

Later that evening, the entire neighborhood which consisted of Nana's close knit friends gathered to welcome me to the island. What would have probably been a wonderful evening was tainted by the fact that what appeared to be every eligible bachelor on the island, was in attendance. The whole way from the port this afternoon she had scolded me, claiming I had behaved rudely towards Lucca.

"Geez, Nana, did you send out applications with an attached note stating, '_Husband for Hire_, _apply now'_ the moment you knew I was coming?" I retorted as I watched the line of men close to my own age of twenty-five parade past me like they were modeling for the latest fashion magazine.

"I know you were taught better manners than what your sassy mouth has been saying all night," she huffed indignantly as she strode past me to greet her friends. I suddenly was trying hard to remember why I had come here. _That's right, I had been more or less been forced. _

Frustrated with her obvious dismissal of how I might feel about this, I got up from the table and made my way across the courtyard to a marble bench which gave a spectacular view of the beach and Mediterranean Sea. Taking in my surroundings I mentally chastised myself for waiting so long to visit. It was truly an island paradise. The breeze was heavy with a mixture of the salty sea air and the sweet scent coming from the vast array of flowers growing in the garden. It was quite intoxicating. There were clematis vines growing over a large trellis that lined an entire length of the southern facing wall of the house. The huge purple and white blossoms stood out against the lush green vegetation of the leaves and vines as they snaked and twined their way across and through the wooden frame.

Hearing my grandmother's laughter carry in the breeze, I turned my gaze in her direction. My imagination went wild wondering what sort of stories she must be telling about me. I hadn't seen her for nearly four years, but when I was a child she visited my family in Washington frequently and I was sure she had many tales of my childhood stored in her memory. As much as I resented the fact that she had somehow gotten the notion she was going to find me a man to be married off to, I knew she meant well and was only trying to take care of me in her own way.

It wasn't as if the men she had invited were hideous or even seemed to have unkind personalities. In fact most of them were quite attractive and appeared to be quite kind and gentlemanly. The problem was with me. I had serious trust issues when it came to romantic relationships with men.

I slipped my sandals off and left them on the bench as I made my way down the path to the beach. The cool evening breeze swept through my hair and my sundress, causing them both to billow behind me as I slowly padded across the sand. I relished in the feeling of it under my feet. It was soft and warm. I felt a sense of relief after putting some distance between myself and the myriad of guests and their outpouring of emotions as they continued to drink, eat, and party.

Being an empath had its disadvantages at times. In situations like this, where the emotions were overflowing from a large crowd, it could get overwhelming at times. My grandmother had the same gift and I had been the only one in the family to inherit it. While the ability to read people's emotions and tell with complete accuracy whether or not they were lying had hindered my personal life into a state of almost nonexistence, my gift certainly had its benefits when it came to my job. Unfortunately the unique ability also led to the sick bastard that was stalking me to become obsessed. It for some sick and demented reason fascinated him that I could sense his emotions.

I tried not to think about him, to put the whole horrid situation out of my mind. I was safe here and as much as I had argued with Emmett about leaving, I now admitted to myself that it was nice to be able to relax and not have to worry about what Reynolds would do next. Even before his case, my life had been hectic and it had been a long time since I had taken any time off and did something for myself.

_June 5, 2010_

For three weeks now, my grandmother had been relentless in her pursuit of trying to find me the perfect husband. I swear I had been introduced to every single male in all of Italy. _Okay, I may be exaggerating a little, but she was driving me bonkers_. I couldn't even remember who was who anymore when she would refer to a certain someone.

"Nana, I do not need a husband to complete my life. Why do you insist on finding me one?" I whined causing her to chuckle at me. She had continued to pursue the topic relentlessly. I had hoped that after her parade of all the eligible men on the island, that she would let it alone. But she hadn't, and it seemed that every day another pursuer of my affections came calling at the front door.

"Do you realize I was married and had four children by the time I was your age," she replied as she continued to clear away the dinner dishes from the table.

"I know, Nana, you tell me every time you come to Washington for a visit. You were lucky to find grandpa, lucky to find someone you could trust. You two were truly a match made in heaven. I just haven't had that kind of luck," I groaned in frustration. _How many times did we need to have this same conversation?_

"What about Stefani or Lucca, what did you think of them dear? They are good boys, ones your father would be proud to give your hand to. Men who can provide for you and then you wouldn't have to keep doing that dangerous job of yours," she shrugged, indicating she didn't understand what was holding me back.

I watched her as she moved around the kitchen. To give myself some time to gather my thoughts on what I wanted to say I helped her clean up. Once she had placed the last dish in the dishwasher and motioned for me to sit with her, I found the words that I hoped would help satisfy her.

"Oh, Nana, they both seem like really sweet men who any girl would be lucky to have. But I just don't feel anything." I knew I was disappointing her, but if I lied she would know in an instant and honesty was one thing that was greatly valued in our family. It was simply not tolerated to be any other way.

"Don't you want more from your life, Isabella? A family of your own?"

"Grandmother, I know you think my life is empty and sad because I don't have a man in it. And yes I want a family of my own someday. But I just haven't found the right man to share it with. No one I can trust. Besides, I have my career, it keeps me quite busy. I can hardly find time to date, let alone find someone to marry, and those I do date, well, it always ends up the same way. They lie, I say goodbye."

"Well I won't give up until I find you an honest man to marry," she said stubbornly.

"Nana, please," I begged her.

Turning to face me, she took both of my hands in hers and with a pleading look in her eyes, she spoke to me softly. "Look, just promise me you'll think about this. No matter what things you have in your life, your job, the fanciest house money can buy, they are just things, and what good is having everything money can buy if you don't have anyone to share it with? Someone to help fulfill all your hopes and dreams."

"And someone to give you beautiful great grandbabies too I assume?" I chided, quirking an eyebrow at her, letting her know I was on to her.

She never said anymore as we cleaned up after our meal. I knew she only wanted me to experience the happiness that she had shared with my grandfather for over fifty years. But it really was hard when every man you dated told you a lie sooner or later, thus leading me not to trust them.

I kissed my grandmother on the cheek and told her I was going to take a walk on the beach. "Don't be too late," was her response.

The sun was setting and the contrasting oranges and reds of the sunset against the blue of the sea were gorgeous. I wandered along until I found a sand dune, where I plopped down and thought about the things she had said to me. I considered for a moment that maybe I relied on my gift too heavily. It was weighing on me more now than ever before, and feeling more like a curse than a gift. But at the same time, I remembered the one time I had ignored what all my instincts had been telling me. I remembered my broken heart and the loss of something that I could never get back.

Suddenly feeling as if I wasn't alone anymore, I looked around and just a few yards down the beach I noticed a man walking near the edge of the surf.

The last rays of the sun cast a reddish glow on the mess of hair covering his head. I couldn't help but wonder if it was windblown from his time on the beach or if he had what I had heard was referred to as natural bedhead—_sex hair_. Not that I'd know much about either one when it came to men.

I quickly lowered my head and fiddled with the edge of my shirt when he looked up and caught me staring. What he didn't know though was that I was still watching through the curtain my hair had formed around my face. He was walking this way and it was impossible not to notice that his body was beautiful. He was wearing a pair of red basketball shorts that hung low on his hips and light gray T-shirt that was snug enough to show that his upper body was very fit. It highlighted the broadness of his shoulders and the bulge of his biceps. The dark trail of wetness down the front suggested he had been doing more than just walking. _Maybe he's a runner_, I thought.

As he moved closer, I continued to gaze up at him through my eyelashes until he got close enough to notice and then I focused on twiddling with the hem of my shirt once again. I went on doing this until I thought enough time had passed that he would be gone. The sun had set and I figured it was about time to head back to the house. It wasn't that late and the beach was brightly illuminated by the full moon, but I didn't want my grandmother to come looking for me, or worse send one of her husband prospects to look for me. And there was no doubt in my mind that she would.

Pulling myself up from my spot in the sand, I was shocked to see the stranger standing just a few feet in front of me with his back facing my direction. He appeared to be tossing stones and small shells into the water. I had a hard time tearing my eyes away from him as I watched him bend over and pick up a few more stones to toss. Watching his muscles bend and stretch as his body flexed in movement was completely mesmerizing. Feeling the urge to flee before I was caught ogling him, I quickly brushed the sand from my backside and started to walk towards the house.

I had barely taken two or three steps when I heard an enchanting voice call out to me, "It's a beautiful night isn't it?"

Thinking that surely the words must have been meant for someone who was joining him I started to walk again, but was stopped dead in my tracks when he spoke again, "The moon is never this bright where I come from."

I stopped and turned where I was standing to make sure there was no mistake he was talking to me. I could feel my pulse quicken as he took short strides until he was just an arm's length away from me. Something was off and it took me a few seconds to pinpoint what it was. _There was nothing_ _coming from him_. No hint of any emotion at all. In all the years since I had discovered my gift, never had there been anyone I couldn't get a read on. This frightened and thrilled me all at the same time. I focused and tried to concentrate a bit harder without becoming obvious, but still nothing. _Holy shit how was I to know if it was safe to even be standing here so close to him? What if he was trouble? _I couldn't stop all the thoughts that were suddenly bombarding my head.

He moved just a step or two closer and held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Edward; it's a beautiful night for a walk on the beach is it not?"

I hesitated for a moment before I slowly reached out to shake his hand. He was almost too gorgeous to touch and when our hands connected a buzz of energy shot up my arm. My eyes widened from the shock and darted up to his face to see if he'd felt it too. The intensity burning in his eyes launched a wave of desire over me, leaving me dizzy and somewhat breathless. I had never had this sort of reaction to anyone in my entire life. The pull I felt towards him was scaring the hell out of me.

Jarring me from the daze I was stuck in, he asked, "Do you have a name, beautiful?"

_Shit did he just call me beautiful?_

The heat of my blush warmed my face as I realized that I still hadn't uttered a word to him despite the fact that he had spoken to me twice. I inhaled a deep breath, and unable to stop the smile that spread across my face I sputtered, "Oh, um, sorry, my name is Bella. And yes, it is a perfect night for a walk on the beach."

**One last note, hello to all the ladies that hang in the chatroom for The Path we Choose. Yes Peaches that includes you. You guys are all great and I've had so much fun chatting and getting to know you. **

**Thanks for reading, now click that little button below and let me know what you think. **

**Til next time, **

**EA**


	2. So Far Away

**Hi everyone. WOW! I have to say that I was blown away by the response to chapter one. You guys are amazing!**

**I have to thank Hope4more and My Bella for all their help. I may just drive them both insane before this story is complete. Hope4more you know I couldn't do this without ya! If you aren't reading their stories then you are really missing out. _Taking You Home_ by Hope4more and _Worth the Burn_ by My Bella. Both are on my favorites list. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all, but I sure wish I could have Edward just for a little while. **;)

**Ok here is what you guys wanted. Let's see what Edward has to say...**

**_I walk along the avenue_**

**_I never thought I'd meet a girl like you,_**

**_Meet a girl like you_**

**_With auburn hair and tawny eyes_**

**_the kind of eyes that hypnotize me through_**

**_hypnotize me through_**

**_and I ran_**

**_I ran so far away_**

**_I just ran_**

**_I ran all night and day_**

**_I couldn't get away_**

_I ran by A Flock of Seagulls_

**~* EPOV *~**

**_May 22, 2010_**

As I pounded the pavement trying to get in my morning run, I felt my cellphone vibrate in my pocket. Slowing down to see who was calling me at six-thirty in the morning on a Saturday, I sat on a park bench to answer it. After taking a minute to catch my breath I touched the screen to read the caller ID information. Upon seeing it was from a local pay phone, I nearly hit the ignore button but something inside me told me not to.

"Edward Cullen," I answered, curious as to who would be calling me.

"Cullen, this is Emmett McCarty. I have a problem I'm hoping you can help me out with."

Now here was a person I hadn't thought about in a while. Emmett and I had attended high school together and had been good friends. However, after we graduated we had gone in separate directions with me in the Army and him a police officer, which led to where he was now in the FBI. We kept in touch from time to time, but it had been a long while since we had last talked.

After fulfilling my obligation with the Army and deciding not to re-up for another tour, I'd gone home to Seattle where after four years of college, I bought and restructured an alarm company that is now the security firm I own with my best friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law, Jasper Whitlock. We were pretty well known along the west coast and mostly installed high end alarm and surveillance systems for businesses and the wealthy, which had their huge mansions to protect. On occasion we even took jobs doing security detail for high profile functions, such as awards ceremonies, big time court cases, or if a celebrity was coming to town and needed some additional security. Our training in the Army Special Forces Unit had taught us all we needed to know about installing such equipment and going under cover or protecting high profile people. None of those seemed like anything Emmett would need from me.

"What kind of a problem? You need an alarm system installed somewhere?" I inquired.

"No, it's much more serious than that." His answer had really thrown me for a loop and had me extremely curious as to what he could possibly want. As far as I knew, Emmett was still with the bureau and had enough manpower at his fingertips, so for him to call me seemed useless.

"OK?" I answered hesitantly, still completely befuddled as to why an FBI agent would need my help. I kept going back to the obvious, at least to me...that this was in regards to an alarm system.

"Look I don't wanna talk about this over the phone. Can we meet somewhere?"

"Sure why don't you meet me at my office? Then you can fill me in on what it is you think I can help you with."

"I can meet you in an hour. Does that work for you?"

Looking at my watch and seeing that would give me just enough time, I replied, "Yeah, I'll see you then." I made sure he knew where we were located and then ended the call.

Not five minutes after I arrived at the renovated warehouse Jasper and I used as the headquarters for our business, the buzzer sounded alerting me to the fact that someone was here, most likely Emmett.

Glancing at the monitor for the front door security camera, I saw that it was indeed him and I pushed the button to the PA system letting him know I'd be right there.

Pulling the door open, I greeted him saying, "Hey man, how's it going? It's been a long time."

"Too long," he said, while nodding his head in agreement as we clasped hands in a firm and friendly handshake.

We made our way through the lower level of the warehouse until we came to the metal stairs leading to the loft area where our offices were located. Our footsteps echoed throughout the large space until we came to the top. As we entered loft space, I motioned for him to have a seat in one of the chairs directly adjacent to my desk. Walking around him, I took a seat behind my dark mahogany wood desk.

Not wanting to beat around the bush, as soon as I sat down, I requested some answers. "It's obvious this isn't a social call, so care to fill me in on what it is that you need?" I folded my arms across my chest and leaned back in my chair, quirking an eyebrow at him to let him know I was waiting for his response.

"Look, I'm not even sure this is something you would be willing to consider, but I am in a tight spot and I know I can trust you," he replied seeming to calm, too collected.

"Okay. So spill it, why are you coming to me?" I was dying with the suspense by this point.

"The life of one of my best agents might be on the line and I need her watched. I need her to be under constant surveillance."

"Isn't that something you would have one of your fellow feds do?" I asked, not understanding why he would come to us for such a job. I mean he worked for the FBI, didn't they protect their own? Surely they had far better resources than I did.

"Yes normally it would be, but I need this to be done under the Bureau's radar. At least the Seattle division of it anyways. I've already gotten clearance from the Head of the Washington Bureau, that is as long as you and your partner pass the background checks we'd have to run," he stated nervously.

Having gotten my full attention and completely intriguing me, I moved forward, placing both of my hands flat on my desk as I said, "Well first of all, just for arguments sake, say we decide to do this; being ex-military I hardly doubt we'd fail any background check you'd run on us. And second, I need more than that Emmett. I know we go way back, but I need to know more about what the hell I'd be getting into. It's not every day the FBI comes to us to do work for them. That shit just doesn't normally happen. I also need your word that this is legit man, cause if it's not, then there's no fucking way Jazz or I will agree to get involved. And third, Jazz has to agree too."

Emmett stood and paced back and forth a few times before he stopped directly in front of my desk and began to explain.

He went through the details of how he had a female agent who was being threatened by a convicted murderer that she helped put behind bars. He also explained that under normal circumstances, he would have a couple agents go hang with her as protection, but some recent events had led him to believe there was a mole in his division. It was because of this he wanted outside help with no ties to the FBI. There would be no way for the alleged traitor to find out where she was.

My first question to him was, "What makes you think that her current location information hasn't already been found out?"

"Because the information I entered onto all her paperwork and the bureau's system is bogus. The only info that was legit was her emergency contact number and as soon as I became suspicious, I deleted it and put bogus shit in. This guy that she helped put away is really fucked up. He's a sick bastard, and he is obsessed with her. Has some kind of notion that he is going to get out and make her his. He keeps sending her gifts with sick fucking notes attached." My old friend paced like a caged animal while explaining his problem to me.

He stopped his pacing and leaned forward resting his hands on the chair back for support. I could see the frustration written all over his face.

"What the hell did this guy get sent up the river for and where is this agent of yours at?" I asked not sure why it made any difference.

"He raped and murdered seven women." Emmett paused staring at me with his pleading glare before he went on to say, "She's on an island off the coast of Italy. She's staying with her grandmother." He then walked back across the room and stood in front of the rail to the loft area as he raked his hands through his short curly hair.

I got up and turned to stare out the huge industrial sized window behind my desk, toying with the notion that Italy was a long fucking ways from here.

As if sensing my inner turmoil, Emmett walked over to where I was standing and pleaded his case, "Man, I know this is a lot to ask, but I know I can trust you."

"Fuck man, off the coast of Italy. You sure you can't send one of your agents to do this?"

"No. If we have a leak in our division then I can't take any chances right now. She's a valuable asset to us, one of the best profilers we've ever had. She played a huge role in putting this sick fucker behind bars I had no choice but to force her to take a personal leave of absence to keep her safely out of the investigation to find out how he is having this shit sent to her. He has to have an accomplice and right now we think it may be someone in our division of the bureau. It could also be someone in the prison facility or possibly even a family member. But until I am sure, she has to be out of the way. I can't take the chance of her getting hurt or worse," he proclaimed. His frustration with the corner he felt backed into was severely clear in the scowl on his face.

I didn't want to add to his level of frustration, but I had to know exactly what I would be getting myself and Jasper into. It was drilled into my brain from my days in the army. I had to know every little detail to be able to properly assess the situation. My life, Jasper's life and Emmett's agent's life could hinder on any small detail left unturned.

"If she is out of the country, what changed that she needs a secret bodyguard?" I asked as I began looking through my calendar to see what I would need to clear from our schedule. This wasn't a one man job. We'd both have to go. My sister was going to kill me.

"She's been gone about a week. I had told her I'd drive by her house now and then just to check on the place. So with the suspicion of a leak in our office, something told me to drive by yesterday. When I did, there was a package from him waiting there for her on the porch. I'm not sure if they meant for me to find it, or if they meant for it to be waiting for her when she came home. But, my concern now is that if he can find her personal residence that he may track down her current location. I did everything I could to keep her location quiet, but if he is determined enough or has an accomplice in the bureau, I can't be sure it won't be found out."

"So if you think he could find her halfway around the world, why not just have her change locations?" I asked.

"Like I said before, he has some sort of obsession with her and some kind of notion that he is going to get out and make her his. Not to mention the fact that if I contact her and tell her she needs to relocate, she is going to high tail it right back here and demand to be a part of the investigation. I can't allow that to happen," he huffed in frustration.

After Emmett and I had gone over the last of the information I needed to keep his agent safe, I told him I would run it all by Jasper and if he agreed then Emmett could do whatever he needed to get us cleared. I'd meet him to give him whatever information he needed for the background checks. Although something told me he already had access to most of it through the feds.

Just as I thought, Jasper agreed and we met up with Emmett to give him our info. He said he'd have the results with in twenty-four hours. True to his word the next morning Jasper and I had been cleared and found ourselves preparing to go to the island of Capri. All that was left was to meet up with Emmett and get the rest of the info we needed from him to do the job.

Later that morning as Jasper and I were walking out the warehouse door with Emmett, he stopped and said, "Just make sure to keep her safe. When it comes to any of my agents I refuse to take any unnecessary risks. But Bella is more than just one of my agents. She's like family to me."

Seeing the sincerity in his words, I promised, "We'll keep an eye on her, no worries."

"You better."

Six hours later we were sitting in the airport, waiting for our plane so we could head to a small island off the coast of Italy. Due to our firearms and the equipment we were taking with us, Emmett had pulled some strings and chartered a small jet to take us there, as well as arranging for a rental car to be waiting for us. I guess that's a perk of working for the FBI. The whole flight over, I had a nagging feeling something big was about to happen. I had gotten the same gut feeling sometimes while on a mission during the time I was still enlisted. Oftentimes I was right. But after Jasper and I had gotten all the information from McCarty we had agreed that someone needed to keep an eye on his "vacationing" agent. Hopefully all this job would entail would be to keep an eye on her as she enjoyed her stay with her grandmother.

**_June 6, 2010_**

After we arrived in Capri, Jasper and I had been quite pleased to find out there was a bungalow next to Agent Swan's grandmother's house for rent. There was a short distance between the two which was roughly the equivalent of a half city block back in the states. However, it was nothing that a good pair of binoculars and a telescope couldn't fix. We would have to rely mostly on listening devices, but would be able to install cameras outside the bungalow to monitor most of the outside of the home and its surrounding property. The biggest challenge would be getting into the house to plant the micro-listening devices or bugs as they were commonly referred to.

After setting up cameras to monitor the outside perimeter of Agent Swan's house, we were able to place some cameras in the back of her place as well using the small stone wall that surrounded the house's terrace to hide them.

On our second day of watching Agent Swan's place, we were able to sneak over after her and her grandmother left on an errand. It really was too easy. The close proximity to where I was staying allowed me to place the bugs and the few small tools I would need into a small backpack and run down the beach to the house, while Jasper kept watch for them to return. Once I picked the lock on the door, I was in and out in a matter of about fifteen minutes. All I had to do was place the micro listening devices around the home in several inconspicuous locations. Then when I arrived back at the bungalow, I tuned the listening equipment to the proper frequency and waited for them to return to make sure we had good sound quality.

That had been two weeks ago and we had been watching her every day since then. We would rotate during the night so that we both got plenty of sleep. This allowed us both to stay alert and focused, unable to afford one slip up.

One thing I hadn't counted on was how watching her was going to affect me. I would see her when she was outside the house in the surrounding garden and patio area or when she took walks along the beach behind the house.

The photo that McCarty had given me for ID purposes let me see that she was pretty, but the photo had nothing on the real thing. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen and I found having to watch her a little too pleasurable. There was something about her that called to me. I had no clue what it was and I had to keep reminding myself that this was a job and nothing more. However, there were those days when I really struggled with that analogy and I ended up feeling like some idiot out of an old cartoon who had the little angel sitting on one side telling me one thing, and the little devil on the other saying something entirely different.

Little did I know that any thoughts I had of keeping this just a job, would all go out the window later that night. I had just checked on her and saw that she was safely having dinner with her grandmother. Jasper was on the phone with his fiancée, who also happened to be my baby sister, Alice. I told him to watch the cameras that I needed to get away from their sickeningly sweet mumbo jumbo talk and get some air. He chuckled and nodded his head letting me know that he had heard me as he turned to face the monitors.

I changed clothes and decided to go for a run along the beach. Back in Seattle, it was a daily ritual of mine to take a morning run through Denny Park, but since arriving here on the island I hadn't had much opportunity for it. Walking the last half of the distance back to the bungalow I realized what a great night it was. The sun was about to set and the full moon was already hanging over the sea. The breeze coming off of the water felt and smelled amazing. Having gotten sand in my shoes as I ran, I had taken them off and was wading in the surf... before I knew it I had gone past the bungalow. I spent a few minutes tossing stones and small shells in the water, and was just about to head back and let Jasper take the first round of sleep, when I noticed someone sitting on a sand dune. As I got closer I realized exactly who it was. Isabella Swan.

I could see her watching me in a way that she thought I wouldn't notice. I had picked up on it right away. I told myself that I should turn around and walk away, not have any contact with her, but when I saw her stand and start to walk away, the words were out of my mouth before I could stop them, "It's a beautiful night isn't it?"

She hesitated for just a fraction of a moment, but then kept going. For some unknown reason I felt the urge to keep her from leaving. So before she got too far away to hear, I called out to her, "The moon is never this bright where I come from."

That did it. She stopped immediately and I took a few strides to move closer to her. I watched her facial expression change from one of surprise to one of deep thought. But for the life of me I couldn't figure out what she would be thinking so hard about right now. I also couldn't help but notice how her skin glowed in the moonlight and how the breeze caught the long tresses of her hair and caused them to billow out behind her. She was breathtakingly beautiful.

Seeing a look come over her face like she might flee, I took a couple of steps closer to her and as I held my hand out to her, I said, "Hi, I'm Edward; it's a beautiful night for a walk on the beach is it not?" _Wow, Cullen, smooth,_ I thought as I laughed at myself internally, did I really just use that cheesy line? How many movies had I heard that in?

When she didn't respond, I then asked her, "Do you have a name, beautiful_?" I need a filter; I am going to scare her off like some creep trying to pick her up at a bar._

Even though I was well aware of who she was, she didn't know that, so I had to play along. She met my gaze and a gorgeous smile spread across her angelic face and while stuttering a bit she replied that her name was Bella. Then she agreed it was a perfect night for a walk on the beach.

We talked about the beauty of the night and then she suddenly excused herself stating that she had to get back before her grandmother worried. And then she was gone.

That had been two days ago. I found her consuming my every thought. She was in my dreams and I was completely overtaken by the pull I felt towards her. I had never experienced anything like it in my life. It was as if the minute my hand had touched hers the world around me froze and nothing else existed.

Jasper hadn't been much help when I tried to talk to him about it, although he did say that he'd had a similar reaction when he'd met my sister Alice at my twenty-fifth birthday party five years ago. He then went on to make a smart ass comment that was something along the lines of, "well if you hooked up with her it would certainly make it easier to keep tabs on her. She'd be in your bed so you'd certainly know where she is, although if that's safe for her I'm not so sure yet."

He was laughing, finding his remarks quite comical. However, it pissed me off to the point I had threatened to rip his head off. I couldn't deny that I was sexually attracted to her, hell I'd been watching her for days now and a couple of times had seen more than I should have. But you can't tell me that any red blooded man wouldn't be drawn to a beautiful woman sunbathing in a barely there bikini.

Although I was confused by my attraction to her, I knew it was so much more than just a physical reaction; I was completely drawn to her and it scared me. How did some girl, who I really knew nothing about have such a profound effect on me? Knowing I wouldn't be able to sleep for a while, I took the first shift keeping watch and letting Jasper get some rest.

**~*BPOV*~**

**_June 7, 2010_**

I had tossed and turned, unable to sleep much at all last night. It had been a few days since I let myself wander from the beach area just behind my grandmother's house. I was afraid that if I went too close to where I had seen him the other night, that I might have another encounter with _him_. And for as much as I was trying to avoid seeing him again, just the mere thought of it caused my heart to race.

I rolled over and noticed that it was actually a bit later than what I thought. It was well past nine in the morning. Sitting up, I stretched and then scooted to the edge of the bed. Getting up I quickly brushed my hair and threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I then padded my way into the kitchen where I could hear Nana moving about.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she chimed, as she flipped what appeared to be crepes in the skillet on the stove.

"Are those what I think they are?" I asked as I licked my lips in anticipation.

"Yes, dear, I haven't forgotten what your favorite childhood breakfast is. Now why don't you get yourself either some milk or juice and the strawberries and cream cheese out of the fridge while I finish up these last few?"

"Did you want something to drink, Nana?" I asked as I placed the items on the table.

She turned around with the plate stacked with crepes and replied, "No thank you, dear, I have some tea."

We sat down together and at first neither of us said anything. However I had been too wrapped up in my crepes to notice she was staring at me as if she was waiting for me to spill some giant secret.

Apparently she was because just as I started to spoon some strawberries onto my second crepe she spoke up. "When are you going to tell me the real reason why you are here, child?"

"I don't suppose I can hide much from you, can I?" Our shared gift would tell her right away if I was not being truthful with her.

"No my sweet girl, I've known you all your life and though we haven't seen each other as often as I would have preferred, we do share a deep connection," she stated, placing her hand on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of comfort, as she got up and went to pour herself another cup of tea.

Sitting back down in the chair directly next to me she took my hand in hers and said, "I've never seen you so out of sorts and your moods all over the place. When you first arrived, I felt a great sense of relief flowing from you. Then of course I could tell you were a bit flustered with my attempts at finding you a husband. And just so you know, don't think I've given up hope yet. But, my darling granddaughter there have been times when I have sensed a great deal of fear coming from you. Let me help you, child. Talk to me." She then released my hand and began to stir her tea as she waited for me to spill my secrets to her.

I winced knowing how hard this must be for her. I should have been more careful to cover my emotions. Of course no matter how hard I tried, it probably wouldn't have made any difference. Our shared gift would have tipped her off. "I'm so sorry, Nana, I hadn't considered what my moods must be doing to you."

She waved her hand in dismissal. "That's what I'm here for, dear."

I spent the next several minutes filling her in on exactly why I was there. She was completely understanding of why I was frightened and why Emmett had not wanted me involved. She then told me I shouldn't worry, I was safe now. That she could feel it. But then she also used it as a reason why I should find a nice man to settle down with so I didn't have to have such a dangerous job dealing with such lowlifes. She got up and came to give me a loving hug that would make anyone feel safe and protected. But as she pulled away what she said next nearly floored me.

"You want to tell me now why you were so twitter-patted and flustered when you came back from your walk on the beach the other night?"

My head snapped up to look at her, and I found her smirking at me as if she somehow already knew. I thought she had already gone to bed by the time I had made it back to the house that night. And of course, if she hadn't known, the moment I blushed it was a dead giveaway. It was a reaction that I had had since I was a child. Through the training I'd received through the FBI at Quarto, I'd learned how to control it. Only in rare instances when I was caught off guard did it occur anymore.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "You've met someone. Tell me which one of the nice boys was it? Was it maybe Lucca, or—"

"It wasn't any of them, Nana. He was an American," I replied with a hint of sarcasm.

She chuckled as she lightly smacked me on the arm, before taking me by the hand and leading me out to the garden bench that overlooked the beach. Gazing out at the sea for a few moments, she cleared her throat and then said, "You do realize there's nothing wrong with choosing an American man. Your mother did and look how happy she is today with your father. Yes it's a shame they didn't have more children after you, but they've been happily married more than thirty years."

Just as I was about to once again tell her that I wasn't looking for a husband, a movement on the beach caught my eye. I gently nudged Nana to the left so I could look around her and have a better view of the landscape before me. There he was standing alone in the surf staring out to sea. It didn't take Nana long to turn around to see what had captured my attention.

"Is that him, child? Is that your mystery American?" she asked watching him almost as closely as I was.

When I nodded that it was, she was quick to say, "He's waiting for you, hoping you'll see him and go to him."

"What…how…you can't possib—"

"I can't get a read on him from this far away. Is that what you were going to say, dear? I don't need to read him. I can see it."

"How?" I whispered, unable to say anything else.

"I can see it in his mannerisms, the way he is carrying himself. The way he is staring out to sea gives off a sense of longing for something. In this case I would say more like someone. Then the way he drops his head at times says he is unsure yet hopeful, and the way he keeps his hands tucked in his pockets tells me that he is just as nervous as you are, my dear."

Could she be right? I knew how to read a person's body language better than most. But in concentrating so heavily on the fact that I couldn't feel his emotions, I failed to really look at the more apparent physical signs.

"Ok, say those things are true. How would he know to come here?" I asked her thinking there was no way she'd be able to explain that one.

She chuckled even louder than she had before and the sound must have carried on the breeze, because as she did, he turned instantly and his eyes were then fixated on me. Once Nana saw that she had attracted his attention, she gave me a shove and urged, "Go to him, child, don't keep him waiting forever."

"But you never answered my question."

"It's simple, my dear, there are no other houses within at least a mile, either side of this stretch of beach, with the exception of the rental bungalow up near the dunes. So there is realistically no other place for you to have come from."

"Oh," was all I could say. I guess when she put it that way, she had a point.

"Now shoo, go to him." She flapped her hands at me, as if she was shooing a fly away.

I giggled at her and pulled myself up from the bench and as I made my way down the path to the beach I noticed his eyes were still fixated on me. I felt myself grow nervous in anticipation as I got closer. I caught myself wondering what color his eyes were. I hadn't been able to tell in the dark the other night.

The closer I got, the easier it was to see he was so much more beautiful in sunlight than the moonlight. _Beautiful_, I thought to myself. Since when did I use that word to describe a man? However, he was beautiful and he was even more fit than I had noticed that night, but not in a forced, fake, bulky, steroids looking kind of way. I had seen plenty of fit men around the bureau, but they were the ones who forced themselves to overdo it, thinking their fake looking muscles made them more masculine. I almost snorted thinking how very wrong they were. Edward was different; he was completely natural, toned in an almost sculpted kind of way.

When I was within a few feet of him, he stepped towards me, still gazing at me with a deep intensity that caused me to shiver slightly. As I met his gaze, I was again flooded with the wave of desire I had felt the first night. He made me want to be around him, to know him better. Plus I wanted to see if I could get a read on him. I wanted to get into his head and know what he was thinking and feeling. He was such a mystery.

"Hi," he stated with a shy smile

"Hi," I replied smiling softly in return.

We talked a few minutes, about the weather, how warm the water was. Silly stuff to try and break the ice between us.

Then he surprised me by asking, "Um, would you like to come take a walk with me?"

_Oh god what should I do,_ is all I could think. I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. But the thought that I couldn't read him and he could be dangerous kept flitting through my brain. My job had made my cynical and untrusting. A hazard of my profession I supposed.

Seeing my hesitation he then said, "Perhaps just a short one, maybe only as far as where I saw you the other night? I promise I don't bite."

I turned to see if Nana was still watching. Who was I kidding of course she was since the minute she saw me looking at her, she waved me off as if to say go... get out of here. Turning back to face Edward, I nervously replied, "Um, sure, that would be nice."

We walked slowly along the beach, talking and playing a bit of the game twenty questions. The more we talked, the more comfortable I became. I wasn't sure why, but something about him told me I was safe with him. It was actually quite strong, the sense of safety and security I felt. We told each other our full names, our favorite colors, movies, and foods. Next we talked about books that we had both read and our favorites of those too. It didn't go unnoticed by either of us that we had quite a bit in common.

When we reached the dunes that I had been sitting on when I first saw him, we both sat down and it was then that he asked, "So, Bella, what brings you to Capri?"

Not wanting to tell him the real reason, I skimmed around the truth. "Vacation. It's been far too long since my last one and I desperately needed to get away from the stresses of my life and job. Plus, my grandmother lives here and she had been begging me to come stay with her for a while now, so here I am. You?"

"I guess you could say I'm on a working vacation sort of trip."

"How so?" I asked.

"Well my partner and I have a security alarm system company and we are here house sitting. The owners wanted an alarm system installed and said we could stay for the rest of the summer until they will return so we can show them how to operate it. Apparently they're paranoid that the instruction manual won't be enough," he replied with a slight chuckle.

"So you're not here alone, your partner is here too?"

"Yeah, he's also my best friend and about to become my brother-in-law. My sister was quite frustrated that attending to the wedding details prevented her from joining us."

"I bet. It is quite beautiful here."

"Yes it is quite beautiful, I would go as far to say absolutely gorgeous." The way he looked at me while saying the words left me feeling that he was talking about much more than the island we were on.

We talked a while longer about things to do with the island and even the mainland. I felt giddy like a school girl hoping that all of that talk would lead to him asking me to do something with him. Which was a big feat for me considering I was still worried about not being able to read him. But I also thought about what my grandmother had said about being alone for the rest of my life if I never put myself out there.

Soon we began to walk back towards Nana's house. We talked some more and even got playful as we ran through the surf and splashed one another, causing him to threaten to dump me in the water if I wasn't careful. I hadn't had this much fun in a very long time and I was amazed that this strange man that I had just stumbled upon on the beach was the cause of it.

He walked me to the end of the path leading from the beach to Grandmother's garden and courtyard. I thought we were about to say goodbye when he took my hand in his and asked if I would have dinner with him tomorrow night. Looking straight into his eyes hoping to gain some sort of insight as to what he was feeling, it was then I noticed his eyes were a startling shade of emerald green. I fought to keep from getting lost in the deep depths of them and somehow I managed to accept his invitation.

He brought my hand to his lips and after placing a soft kiss on it, said, "Until then." After flashing me this incredibly sexy smile that I could only describe as being somewhat lopsided, he turned and walked back down the path.

I watched him go and when he was near the end of the path I realized that he hadn't said what time tomorrow. I knew where he was staying, but didn't feel comfortable going there just to ask him what time dinner would be. So I did the only thing I could, I ran down the path after him and called his name. As soon as he heard me, he instantly turned and for a minute I think there was a hint of sadness on his face, almost as if he thought I was going to back out.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Yes…no…I mean, it's just you didn't say what time we would be having dinner and I was also wondering how I should dress?" I huffed out, slightly winded from running down the path.

"Oh, you're right. Um, how about I pick you up at seven? Dress causal, something that you won't be afraid to get wet. In fact why don't you bring a swimsuit," he suggested.

"Just where are you taking me?" I asked suspiciously.

"If I told you it wouldn't be surprise, now would it?" he retorted with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"Well then I should tell you now, I hate surprises." I swore I had to fight the impulse to stomp my foot like a petulant child and stick my tongue out. _My god, was it really that bad to have a surprise every now and then?_

"Hmm, that's just too bad," he replied, leaning in and placing a quick peck on my cheek. He then turned and jogged off before I could say another word.

**Thanks for reading. Can't wait to hear what you think.**

**Until next time, don't forget on Monday there will be a teaser for chapter 3 on my blog. **

**EA~  
**


	3. Longshot

**Hey everyone, hope you are all having a fabulous Thursday evening. I know I am. Well this is a little early and you can all blame it on les16 cheering me on to post now. You can thank her by checking out her story _The Path We Choose._ I promise the first chapter will have you hooked. **

**Hope4more, there are no words you know how I feel about ya. My Bella, I hadn't set out to take you on this roller coaster with me, but I am so glad you have jumped on for the ride. **

**Huge thank you's to all of you for your reviews and adding me to your fav's list. It's helps keep us fan-fic authors going.  
**

**Once again I sadly must say that Stephenie Meyer owns Edward and the rest of the gang.  
**

_It's a long shot-  
But I say why not?-  
If I say forget it?-  
I know that I'll regret it-  
It's a long shot-  
Just to beat these odds-  
The chance is we won't make it-  
But I know if I don't take it-  
There's no chance-  
'Cause you're the best I've got-  
So take a long shot-_

_Longshot by Kelly Clarkson_

~*BPOV*~

_June 7, 2010 _

Of course Nana was waiting for me when I returned from my walk with Edward. She tried to pretend that she was immersed in the magazine she had open on her lap, but the amount of anticipation that was rolling off of her told me otherwise. What was funny is she knew that I would know and yet she tried to play it off anyways.

Since she was trying to play all cool like she wasn't ready to pounce on me for details, I decided to play along. Walking right past her, I made my way for the stairs leading to the second floor.

"Enjoy your walk, dear?" she asked as if she didn't already know.

I smirked and replied, "I think you already know I did."

She laughed lightly and replied, "Yes, yes I suppose I do," before patting the sofa cushion next to where she was sitting. In a grandmotherly way she demanded, "Come have a seat and tell me about this secret admirer of yours."

Letting go of the banister, I made my way back across the room to where she was. She closed her magazine and placed it on the coffee table letting me know that I had her undivided attention.

"Um, what is it you would like to know, Nana?"

"Well certainly you know his name, let's start there."

"His name is Edward Cullen, Edward Anthony Cullen to be exact and he is here for what he calls a working vacation," I told her.

She got a somewhat blank expression on her face and I knew instantly what had stumped her.

"He came for work, but is getting a vacation out of it as well. See the way he explained it is that he and his partner have a business installing alarms systems and the owners of the bungalow had a new one installed and they asked him to stay for the rest of the summer until they returned so that they could show them how to properly operate it. So now that they have done the work they are having a short vacation."

She nodded her head in understanding and then asked, "Wouldn't you think that it could be operated from the instruction manual?" which in turn caused me to giggle.

"What is so funny, child?" she asked.

"That's exactly what he said," I laughed.

"Hmm, perhaps he's not so bad after all if he can have the same ideas as I can," She said.

"Uh, he uh asked me to go to dinner with him tomorrow night and I accepted," I muttered.

"Well that's wonderful, dear, so why am I sensing fear and worry from you? He didn't try any funny business did he?"

"No, Nana, he was a perfect gentleman," I assured her.

"Then what's wrong, I don't understand? You should be thrilled; he appeared to be handsome enough from what I had seen." Her eyes crinkled with mirth.

"I haven't told him about my abilities. In fact we haven't discussed what my job is yet at all."

"Well how does he seem to you, surely you know how he feels about you. That has to be some relief. I am sure your worrying for nothing dear;" She added as she got up and made her way into the kitchen.

I followed knowing I needed to tell her the rest of what was bugging me. As I started to fill her in on my worries, she poured us both a glass of lemonade and began to take the ingredients for dinner out of the fridge. I watched as she took two large pots out of the pantry. One to boil water for the noodles and the other to put the marinara sauce in to simmer. Both the sauce and the noodles I was sure she had made fresh this morning. She added a pinch of salt to the water and after setting the heat to the desired level, she turned back to the fridge and took out the vegetables for a salad. I could tell she was thinking about what she wanted to say.

Passing a cutting board, knife and some salad ingredients to me, she finally spoke as we both got to work chopping the vegetables up. "So this…this inability to read him, is what scares you?"

I sighed putting down the knife and dragging the nearby stool over where I could sit on it as I talked to her. "Yes, I guess that's a big part of it. Have you ever had it happen to you?"

"Not be able to read someone? No. Never," She stated, boldly as she checked the water for the noodles and stirred the sauce.

I felt my breathing increase feeling slightly panicked by her declaration. I had been hoping she would tell me that it happens from time to time and this was just the first time I had encountered it.

"Don't you find that a little peculiar?" My brown eyes were wide with concern.

"Maybe. But certainly not out of the realm of possibility. Don't you think that most people would find our gift a bit peculiar?"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of, Nana. What if I tell him and he thinks I am some sort of freak of nature?" I cried.

"You must be quite smitten with this young man to be so worked up like you are. So tell me, are you going to go through life never dating men you can't read? Maybe he is exactly what you need solely for that purpose. It puts you on an even playing field just like everyone else. How many times when you were younger did you wish that you didn't have the ability to sense emotions or tell if people were lying to you?"

She looked at my confused expression, like she couldn't understand why I was so worried. I continued to chop the salad fixings and stewed while I considered what she had said. I was so torn over the whole thing. Maybe she was right. Maybe it would be better if I didn't know what he was feeling or if he were being truthful all the time. She was right that it would leave us both on level playing fields. Could that be why none of my other relationships ever worked out before, because I always had the upper hand because of my gift?

"Maybe you're right," I conceded reluctantly.

She stopped what she was doing and came to stand in front of me and took both of my hands in hers caressing them gently. "Isabella, stop this self-pity stuff. You're not making any sense. Weren't you just complaining the other day that you can't date because you always know when a man is lying and according to you they always do?"

"Yes."

"Makeup your mind my dear or you will never date. Do you want to date men you can read or men you can't? You only have two choices, are you going to reject them both?"

I groaned knowing she was right. "I never imagined I would have a choice. It's so hard, this whole situation has completely caught me by surprise and I am lost and reacting in the wrong way."

"Isabella, I don't mean to dismiss the emotions that you are experiencing, but I really feel you reacted with fear. You're overthinking things. Just follow your heart. That will be all the instinct you need. Do you like this man? Do you find him attractive?"

"Yes, if—"

"Then there's nothing else to discuss, unless he gives you reason to worry." She shushed me and walked over to the stove where she proceeded to engross herself in preparing dinner.

I huffed and tried not to take my frustration out on the salad items. It wasn't long before we were sitting at the table eating our spaghetti dinner. The homemade bread she had baked earlier in the day was to die for. I knew I would be taking several of her recipes home with me when the time came to leave.

We were about finished with our meal when I finally broke the silence that was like a brick wall between us. "I'm sorry, I'm just scared, Nana."

"Oh, of course you are my dear girl, but if you don't ever take the risk and put yourself out there, you will never know what it's like to be loved. If you are going to think about something, then think about how wonderful it could be. Wouldn't that be worth the risk?"

"It would. I know that you are right." At least I hoped and prayed she was. I had never been so drawn to someone and I was so afraid this was going to end badly.

_June 8, 2010_

The next day came all too quickly, and to say that I was nervous about going to dinner with Edward was an understatement. I rolled over to face the window and the first thing I noticed was that it was pouring outside. It was dark and ominous and instantly made me think of home. Seattle and the northwest in general were known for its abundance of rainfall. As I stared out the window, my thoughts once again turned to my looming dinner with Edward. He had said to dress casual and bring a swimsuit, which told me that we'd be outdoors for at least part of the time, but now with the rain, I wondered if he'd cancel.

I didn't have to wait long for an answer. Moving to get out of bed, I flipped the quilt back just a little too briskly and it caught the corner of something on my nightstand and sent it flying to the floor. Leaning over the edge of the bed, I saw a folded piece of paper along with a single bright orange rose lying on the floor.

Reaching down to pick them up I nearly tumbled off the bed right onto my head. Luckily I grabbed the headboard in time and caught myself. Lying back on my pillow I brought the rose to my face and inhaled its sweet scent. It was quite nice. I had never gotten an orange rose before and in fact had never seen one this color before. It made me very curious as to why whoever sent it chose this color. Perhaps it was just native to the area.

Suddenly a wave a fear ripped through me as I thought about the possibility that it could be from him—the very man that I had come here to escape. I frantically tore open the note and without even reading it, my eyes scanned the paper until I was at the end of the note and saw that it was signed by Edward. I was so overwhelmed with relief that I couldn't fight back the tears that began trailing down my cheeks. After a couple of minutes, I pulled myself together and wiped my eyes on the end of my nightshirt. I then picked the note and rose back up from where they were sitting on my bed. Smelling the rose again I then proceeded to read the note.

_Bella, _

_I had planned to take you for a picnic dinner on the beach, where we could swim and watch the sunset together afterwards. However, I don't think that the weather is going to make that possible today. The forecast is calling for the rain to continue for most of the day so we'll have to save the picnic for the next time. I would still love to take you to dinner tonight and was wondering if instead you'd like to accompany me to a restaurant I've heard of in town. Below is my number. If I don't hear from you, I will assume our date is still on and I will see you at seven._

_Until then,_

_Edward _

_913-620-0305 _

I decided to put my shower off until later in the day, closer to the time for my date with Edward. Curious as to how the rose and letter got to be on my bedroom side table, I quickly got up pulling on a t-shirt and shorts and combed through my hair with my fingers before clamping it in clip. I hurried downstairs to see if Nana could tell me. On my way, I wondered if he had somehow been in my bedroom. Surely he hadn't, had he?

Just as I entered the kitchen, Nana came in from where she had been sitting outside on the covered veranda.

"Oh there you are. I was just coming to see if you had found your note from your gentleman friend. You were still sound asleep when I took it to your room this morning," she chimed, fighting back the smile I could see threatening to spread across her face.

I couldn't help it though, my face felt as though it was about to split from the huge grin that was currently on my face. As I opened the refrigerator and pulled out the milk, I asked her, "So did he have say anything when he brought it?"

Nana chuckled at me as she stirred her freshly poured cup of tea. "No, dear, I didn't see him. The note and rose were by the front door when I went out to get the mail this morning. Too bad really, I would have loved to have a chat and maybe a cup of tea with him."

"Yeah I just bet you would," I mumbled softly hoping that she didn't hear me, before I spoke up and said to her, "Don't start planning the wedding yet, Nana, I haven't even been on the first date yet."

"You are still going right; I hope the note wasn't to cancel on you. Was it?" she asked taking a sip of her tea.

"Yes, he just made a change in our plans to accommodate for the weather. We were going to have a picnic on the beach and swim, but now we are going into town for dinner."

"Just as well. It's much too soon for that young man to see you in those strings and tiny pieces of fabric you call a bathing suit. You might as well not be wearing anything," she huffed.

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow to question if she really meant that. She raised hers right back at me and said, "What? Don't give me that look, child, for heaven's sake I'm not suggesting that you actually swim naked with him, I am merely stating that… that thing you call a swimsuit leaves nothing to the imagination."

I walked over and gave her a hug and kissed her cheek as I rubbed her arms in a soothing manner. "Simmer down, Nana. I have no intentions of getting naked with any man anytime soon." That seemed to ease her worries.

That afternoon, the rain let up enough that we took a trip to the market. Nana said that this kind of weather was the best time to go. It usually kept the crowds away and she could take her time and search for new herbs and vegetables to experiment with. While walking around the aisles of just about every fruit and vegetable imaginable, I noticed that there was a fresh flower vender. Picking up the different varieties available, I inhaled the unique sent of each one.

Nana must have seen what I was doing. She made her way over to me and asked, "Thinking about your Romeo?"

I smiled shyly and nodded as I picked up a pink rose and brought it to the tip of my nose. "Nana, do you know what the meaning is behind the different colors of roses? I've heard that each color stands for different emotions when you give them."

"Si, I've heard a few of them. Red of course means I love you, black means death, and yellow means joy and friendship. Why?"

"I was just curious why Edward chose to give me an orange rose. If there was some meaning behind it," I said as I placed the bloom back into the bucket of water.

"Maybe you could ask him during your dinner this evening," She offered.

"Hmm, or maybe I will just google it on my laptop," I chuckled.

We had a great afternoon and I really enjoyed my time perusing through the market with her and made it a point to go to the one back home in Seattle instead of settling for what the grocery store had to offer. My love of cooking was another trait I had inherited from my grandmother and I hoped to go home with some new recipes. I knew Rose and especially Emmett would appreciate being guinea pigs for me to try them out on.

Thinking of home and Emmett made me wonder if there was any breakthrough in the case. I hadn't heard from Emmett at all, but then again he said I wouldn't unless they either closed it, or it was absolutely necessary for him to contact me. Until then I was in limbo here in Italy.

Once we left the market I told Nana I needed to find someplace I could buy a dress for dinner. She said she knew just the place and off we went. We pulled up in front of a dress shop that was located not far from the market. We browsed for a while and I eventually found two dresses that I liked. Unable to choose right then, Nana suggested I get them both, saying that perhaps I'd need another one for a second date. If nothing else she was optimistic. The shop carried a full range of accessories so I was also able to get shoes and a small purse to go with both dresses. After arguing with and losing to Nana over who would pay for the items we were headed home.

Soon it was time to get ready for my date. I helped Nana clean up the mess we had made from her teaching me to make a new kind of homemade bread. She then shooed me out of the kitchen telling me to go spiffy myself up. Laughing at her comment the whole way, I headed up to take a shower while I pondered which dress to wear.

While showering I thought about both dresses and ultimately decided on the black one. I wasn't sure where we were going for dinner and it was just a little dressier than the white one. It was made from stretch silk and had felt amazing when I'd tried it on. It was black sheath dress with a scoop neckline and it clung to me in all the right places like a comfortable glove. The dress had a shadowy sort of a water color floral print in varied shades of purple, lavender and white splashed on it.

Once out of the shower I dried off, slipped into my dress and got to the task of my hair and makeup. I spritzed my wet hair with a light hair gel and then scrunched it as I dried it to add to the natural wave I already had. I had thought about ironing it flat, but with the rain came humidity and that meant it wouldn't stay ironed for long. So instead, I played up what I knew would be my hair's natural reaction to the weather. After my hair was done, it was onto the makeup. Already having a soft glow of color to my skin from spending so much time outside since arriving here, I kept it light and just added some eyeliner, mascara and my favorite lip gloss. Next shoes were on, phone and other necessary items were added to the small clutch purse I'd gotten today, and with one more whiff of the rose Edward had given me, I was on my way downstairs to wait for his arrival.

As I made my way into the family room, Nana stood upon hearing the click of my heels across the wood floor.

"La mia bellissima Isabella," Nana said as she kissed both my cheeks and knowing she'd have to translate for me said, "My beautiful Isabella."

"Thank you, Nana, but I tend to think your opinion might be a bit biased."

"Nonsense, child," she scolded.

Before she could argue over my appearance any further, the doorbell chimed, most likely signaling that Edward had arrived. Nana insisted on getting the door, stating that I didn't need to appear overly eager even if I was.

To help calm my nerves, I stood with my back to the entryway to the room and gazed at the many family photos Nana had on her fireplace mantel. It didn't surprise me that quite a few of them were of me as a little girl and various ages as I'd grown up over the years. Maybe what my cousins had always said throughout my life about me being her favorite was true. If so, I couldn't find it in me to regret it. I had always loved the closeness we shared and I would never want it any other way.

I heard the front door close and had barely heard them enter the room. Even so I tried to pretend that I hadn't until Nana spoke. "Bella, Mr. Cullen has arrived to escort you to dinner."

I turned to greet them and was caught off guard by how mouthwatering Edward was in his suit. He was wearing a charcoal grey suit with a black dress shirt underneath. The top few buttons on his shirt were undone and I couldn't help noticing the wisps of copper colored chest hair that were visible. As my eyes moved over his frame, I took in how the jacket fit perfectly across the expanse of his broad shoulders and moving lower over the rest of him, how his pants hung perfectly on his trim hips.

He was a sight to behold as he walked to me and took my hand, raising it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on it, saying," Good evening, Bella, you look even more beautiful than your name would suggest."

Lowering my hand, but not letting it go, he smiled wickedly at me, letting me know he knew I had been checking him out.

"Thank you, you look quite nice yourself. Have you been introduced to my grandmother?" I asked.

"Yes, dear I introduced myself to your handsome young man," she said as she winked. Thank goodness Edward couldn't see her.

I was going to have to ask her what the wink and the comment about him being my man were all about later. It made me wonder for a minute if she could read him and had some sense about him. If she did, it was obviously good, otherwise I would know. She'd find a way to warn me if she had bad vibes about him.

I was pulled from my internal musings when Edward asked if I was ready to go and I said yes that I just need to get my things. After grabbing the silk shawl Nana was lending me and my purse, I kissed Nana on the cheek and told her not to wait up, even though I knew it would do me no good. I was very much aware that even if she were in bed, she'd be listening for my return.

"You take care of her and don't keep her out too late," she ordered as we made our way out the door.

Edward responded to her saying, "You have my word ma'am," as he opened the door to the BMW I assumed was a rental car.

We drove in silence for a while until he spoke up and asked, "We're going to La Capannina, have you ever been there before?"

"Um, no, this is only the second time I have been here on the island. The first time I was a little girl and I really don't remember much other than my grandmother's house. What about you, have you been there?" I inquired.

"No, I haven't. I just thought that maybe since your grandmother lived here, you had been before. I was told by the gentleman that I purchased your rose from this morning at the market, that it was fantastic."

"Well, I guess we will have to find out if he was correct," I retorted playfully.

"We will," He said as he grinned and focused on the road.

As we entered the restaurant, I was immediately enchanted by the charm of the place. Our host Giavanni escorted us to our table which was located on the veranda. I looked around and noticed there were only two other couples who were seated out here with us. The décor was extremely romantic and made me feel a bit as thought I had been swept off into some fairy tale. Large hanging vines with fragrant blooms of some kind were draped and twisted all around the structure. It reminded me of boganvilla , but I wasn't certain. Several ferns were also hanging and the only lightening came from the many candles placed on almost every surface.

As we looked over our menus, we both had a difficult time choosing what to order. So we decided to order a few different things and try them all. We ordered Ravioli Caprese, Linguine alle Vongole e Porcini, along with a salad for us each and a bottle of wine to share.

After the first glass of wine we both seemed to relax and loosen up a bit. While we waited for our food to arrive he filled me in on all the details about his job, how it sometimes entailed more than just installing alarm systems, how he had even met a few celebrities along the way because of what he did. He talked briefly about his time in the army and admitted that as much as he enjoyed his career in the Special Forces Unit, he was selfishly glad he was no longer enlisted due to all the commotion in the Middle East. He said if called upon, he'd go without hesitation and would defend his country to the best of his ability, but it was not something he really wanted to do.

We continued to talk as we ate our food—which delicious didn't begin to subscribe. I told him that he'd have to come have dinner one night with Nana and I, promising that the food would be just as good, if not better. He accepted immediately.

As the night went on, it surprised me to find out that Edward also lived in Seattle. His family was originally from Chicago, but when his father took a position as the head of the ER department at Seattle Grace they moved. It was the summer before he started high school. I learned about his sister and how she was engaged to his best friend and how they'd met at his twenty-fifth birthday party. I let him keep talking hoping that he wouldn't get to the question I was dreading. I had no problems talking about my childhood and family life or even what my job was. But I was severely afraid of how he'd react if I told him about my gift. He wouldn't be the first one to run for the hills when gaining the knowledge that I could sense their feelings and tell if they were lying. And I stubbornly wanted to tell him about my ability and see how he reacted, before also telling him that he was a blind spot in my gift and I couldn't read him if my life depended on it.

At first I didn't think I'd have to tell him. I didn't think I'd ever see him again once one or both of us left the island. But now that I knew we lived in the same city, a little part of me was hoping that just maybe, just this once, I might get lucky. Maybe he would want to see me again once we were both back in Seattle. But I had to tell him first, so I figured if he stayed around after learning about my ability then he would deserve to know that I couldn't read him.

Dessert came and right along with it, so did that one question I wanted to avoid. "So tell me about you, Bella. Do you have any siblings, where do you work, where are you from?"

Twirling my fork in the remainder of my chocolate dessert, I took a deep breath and resigned myself to telling him some of it. I would tell him the rest when he dropped me off. Then at least I would be home if he ditched me to never be seen again. I started with the safe stuff and told him that I was the youngest of two, that I had a brother Alec who was five years older than me and a doctor at Forks Community Hospital. He had apparently never heard of Forks which actually didn't surprise me given its size. Going on, I told him where Forks was and that Alec had a four year old little boy, Landon, and that his wife Jane had found out right before I left for Italy that baby number two was on the way and would arrive around Christmas time.

Once I was done telling him about Alec's family he asked, "What about your parents?"

I was just about to tell him when the waiter came to our table and asked if we needed anything else. Edward told him no and asked for our check. Shortly after that, we were in the car and headed back home. We had been driving a few minutes when he turned the radio down and then once again inquired about my family.

He picked up my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before saying, "I believe, Miss Swan, you were just about to tell me about your parents."

"Well, there isn't really much to say. My father is the police chief of Forks, and my mom is the music teacher at the local high school," I explained and then sat there knowing what I was going to have to tell him next.

"So what about _you_? Is it just my imagination, or are you skipping around the subject and trying to avoid telling me? From what I have learned about you so far in the small amount of time we have spent together, I can't fathom what you'd have to be worried about."

Here was the moment of truth. We pulled in to the driveway and I looked over at him as he turned the car off. "Let's got sit in the garden or on the beach and I'll tell ya everything," I suggested.

He gave me a puzzled look, as if he didn't quite understand what the big deal was, but he nodded and then got out and came over to open my door. He took my hand and helped me out of the car and held it as we walked to the garden. Letting go of his hand, I set my purse down on the bench and slipped my shoes off placing them next to it. I wanted to walk down to the water's edge and there was no way I was trudging through the sand in heels.

Feeling the need for some sense of security, I pulled Nana's shawl around my arms and shoulders, grasping the ends of it tightly in my hands, and led the way down the path. I stopped just as I reached the edge of the surf. I felt Edward come up behind me and place his hands on my arms, rubbing them for a minute.

I felt so comforted by his touch. And that only scared me even more to tell him. How was it that I could get inside the heads of some of the most vile creatures you could imagine and not be fazed by it, but yet I was afraid to tell this man whom I'd only known for a short time what my job was. At that moment a little voice in my head told me, _because you're falling for him Bella. No I'm not, _I thought back_. _But then I had to admit to myself that maybe I was. I had never been so affected by a man in my life.

"What's wrong, Bella?" he whispered in my ear as he leaned his head against mine.

I turned around to face him. If I couldn't read his emotions I had to at least be able to see his reaction to what I was about to say and hope that it would give me some idea as to how he felt about it. I took in a deep breath as I forced my eyes to focus directly on his and let it out, "I work for the FBI."

"You do?" he asked, but I noticed he didn't seem all that surprised for some reason. But then again maybe it was just me since I was at a loss when it came to reading him.

"Yeah, I'm actually assigned to the office in Seattle. So I guess we, uh, live in the same city," I said watching for his reaction.

"Hmm, I suppose we do," he replied as he took hold of my hands and pulled me closer to him.

However I knew I had to keep going and tell him the rest, so I turned and took a few steps away from him. "Edward, that's not all. I'm not just your ordinary everyday FBI agent. I have a very specific job that I do for them. I don't do the normal investigating of the bad guys like you might think I do. I can and I do—I'm trained for it, but it's not usually what I do."

I could feel my heart trying to pound its way out of my chest as I waited for him to say something, anything. Turning back around to gage his reaction, I could see a somewhat perplexed look on his face. He looked confused and I wasn't sure why but wanted to get this over as fast as possible so I went on, "I'm a psychologist, I profile the bad guys. Get inside their heads, you know... see what makes them tick and try and get confessions out of them."

"Is that what you were so afraid to tell me? Did you think I'd worry about you getting inside my head or something?" he asked moving closer to me, and pulling me into his arms. Oh god how I wanted to stay there and never leave. It didn't matter that I couldn't read him; I had never felt so safe.

"Um, something like that," I muttered.

He backed away slightly and asked, "Something like what? What do you mean? Are you teasing me?"

"No I'm not joking, I wish I were, more now than ever before in my life I wish I were."

I felt tears beginning to well in my eyes. As I heard him say, "What do you mean, Bella? Tell me now. What are you a mind reader, you trying to get in my head, Bella?" he chuckled, probably thinking it couldn't possibly be true.

"Normally I would be. Normally any guy I go out with, yes I try to get into their heads. And actually I do it quite easily."

"Normally?" he asked. When I didn't respond, he took a few steps away from me, running his hand through his hair, tugging on it in frustration as he pulled away.

Here we were, I knew it would come to this, he was preparing to leave. I felt so defeated and so angry with myself that I had even let myself hope for a second that he might be different.

I started to move towards the path leading back to the house. But just before I reached it, I felt his hand take hold of mine and stop me from moving any further. He spun me around and lifted my chin with his hand so I was forced to look at him. I saw a flash of some emotion I couldn't quite make out breeze across his face. I tried to look away, but he wouldn't let me. He held my face just firmly enough to prevent it.

He licked his lips, let out a gust of air and said, "You said normally. Does that mean you weren't trying to get into my head?"

"It means I can't," I murmured.

"You can't? I don't understand, Bella, please explain what you mean 'cause I'm really getting confused," he blurted out.

"It means that if I could get in your head I would. See I have this ability, a gift you could say, although right now it feels like a curse, but whatever. Um, I can read and feel people's emotions, what some refer to as an empath. And not only can I sense what people are feeling with uncanny accuracy, I can tell when they are lying. I'm a human lie detector, Edward. It's great for my line of work, but it puts quite a damper on my personal life."

"So you can tell what I'm feeling and if I'm lying?"

"I said normally I can. And yes I know it's freakish and it's ok if you wanna leave now. They always do."

"Who does?" he asked.

"Men, more specifically, the men I attempt to date. If they haven't lied to me and caused me to leave them, then by the time I get my hopes up and tell them the truth, they hightail it away from me as fast as they can. So like I said, you can go, I understand."

He looked at me curiously like I was crazy for even suggesting such a thing. "Bella, back to what I said before, what do you mean by normally?'"

I chewed on my bottom lip and nervously shifted my weight to my other foot as I contemplated telling him. He was after all still here; he'd stayed around longer than the rest ever had. Usually the second the words were out of my mouth, they were out the door.

"I said normally because I can't read you. I can't sense you at all and I don't know why. It's never happened to me before," I sighed in frustration.

"Well, I guess then for once you are on an even playing field with the rest of us when we go on a date," he retorted with a smile and a sarcastic gleam in his eye.

"It's so strange and if I'm completely honest with you it's quite scary. I've never felt so blind and unsure of what I should do. I rely on my talent for everything...for my job, for my relationships." I stopped, taking in a big breath of air, "I'm shocked that you haven't gone running for the hills screaming, thinking that I'm some kind of freak," I admitted as I fought to keep my mouth from hanging open in bafflement over my purge of honesty.

"Bella, I'm not gonna lie to you. I was a bit freaked out when you first said it. But not for the reason you think. Not because I think you are some kind of freak. Yes, it's a strange and unique ability to have, but I was worried because I thought you'd sense the overwhelming amount of feelings I have for you. I feel so drawn to you and have this need to be close to you and it scares the shit out of me. So when you said that you could sense and feel what others could, I thought it would scare you too and you'd go running for the hills as you put it."

Once again taking me in his arms, I relaxed against him breathing in his scent. It was like musk and honey mixed with the cool ocean breeze—completely intoxicating. I stayed there for a few minutes soaking it all in, allowing myself to hope once again that I could maybe finally have a regular relationship with a man. I knew I had to make one more confession.

"Edward," I mumbled against his chest.

"Yeah," He replied, kissing the top on my head.

"Um, what you said about your feelings for me…I um… feel the same way about you. It's why I was so scared to tell you about my gift."

He gazed into my eyes as he ran his hand through my hair and tucked it back behind my ear. He pulled me tighter against him and leaned forward as if he wanted to kiss me. I was breathing in quick uneven breaths in anticipation of feeling his lips pressed against mine. He paused, his mouth barely hovering over mine. He was so damned close.

"Bella," he whispered.

In that moment, I felt myself melt against him. My eyes fluttered shut as his mouth claimed mine. As I slid my hands up his chest and tangled my fingers in the hair near the nape of his neck, he slanted his head slightly to the left and deepened the kiss. His tongue brushed against my lower lip causing me to part them and allow him entrance to my mouth. His lips were soft and warm and I could have stayed there forever kissing him like nothing else in the world mattered. Unfortunately, we both needed to breathe. Slowly he ended the kiss allowing us to do so. Not wanting to part completely he peppered my lips with a few soft brushes of his. Without saying anything, he reluctantly released me from his hold and slid his hand down my arm taking my hand in his. We then began to walk back to the house, briefly stopping at the bench to retrieve my shoes and purse, and then on to the front door.

Pulling me into his embrace he asked, "Can I see you again tomorrow?"

"Yes," I breathed still reeling from our kissing on the beach.

I gave him my number as well as the number to Nana's house. He kissed me again, but only briefly this time and said goodnight while making sure I was in the house completely before walking away to the car.

I watched out the window as he drove away. For the first time in my life I had real hope.

**Thanks for reading. Remember there will be a teaser posted on my blog on Monday. Until next time, EA**.


	4. All I Need

**Hi everyone, hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you to all of you who continue to read, review, put me on your alert list and just cheer me on with your great words. **

**We all need to give Hope4more and My Bella huge props for this chapter. A big part of it would have been a disaster if not for their help. I thank you both for enduring the many rewrites of that certain part. I couldn't have done it without your help.**

**If you would like to see Edward's tattoo that is revealed in this chapter, the lovely Lindz over at Robmani Porn has made me a yummy pic of our guy with his tattoo bared for us all to see.  
**

**Once again I sadly must say that Miss Meyer owns them all. **

_Can you still see the heart of me  
All my agony fades away  
When you hold me in your embrace_

_Don't tear me down  
For all i need  
Make my heart a better place_

_Give me something I can believe  
Don't turn it down  
What's left of me  
Make my heart a better place_

_I've tried many times but nothing was real  
Make it fade away  
Don't break me down  
I want to believe that this is for real  
Save me from my fear  
Don't turn me down_

_Don't tear me down  
For all i need  
Make my heart a better place_

_**All I Need by Within Temptation**_

**~*EPOV*~**

**_June 20, 2010_**

I woke up with a smile on my face as I anticipated the day that lay ahead of me. Pulling myself out of bed, I took a quick shower and once dressed made my way downstairs to the kitchen. Bella had spent the evening with her grandmother yesterday, so I had taken the first round of watch and then Jasper had come in to relieve me sometime around two this morning so I could get some sleep.

Knowing that Jasper would still be in the spare bedroom where we had all the monitoring equipment set up, I grabbed a tray and piled a couple of cups of coffee and some fruit and muffins on it and made my way back upstairs to see how he had faired during the night.

I nudged the partially open door with my foot to allow me entrance into the room. Hearing me enter, Jasper turned and looked grateful for the simple breakfast I had brought with me.

"Good morning partner. I trust the rest of the night was uneventful?" I inquired as I sat down placing the tray on the small table in the room.

"Yeah, your girl is safe and sound," he quipped.

"Come on, Jazz, I'd hardly call her my girl. I've only known her a few weeks and who knows what will happen once we are both back to our real lives." I knew what I wanted to happen, but Bella and I hadn't discussed whether or not we would continue this thing we had between us once we were back in Seattle.

"You're a bigger fool than I thought if you don't see how you're falling for her man," he chastised me.

"Look, I admit I have feelings for her, but falling for her, don't you think it's a bit premature for that?" I asked the whole time knowing that he was one hundred percent right. I walked over to the window to stare in the direction of her house. At least this way he couldn't see the smile that graced my face every time I thought about her.

Jasper got up and walked across the room to where I was standing, staring out the window. "Edward, why are you denying the obvious? I haven't seen you so wrapped up in a girl since basic training. Ever since that night you bumped into her on the beach, you've spent nearly every waking moment with her. Hey, man, I'm not trying to criticize you for it; hell I think it's great. You've been the odd man out for a while now. But if you think you can get away without telling her why you're here, you're crazy."

"You think I haven't thought about that?" I grumbled, turning to glare at him and silently telling him to shut the hell up. Which of course he didn't do.

"Then tell her. Before it's too late and you regret it."

"That won't happen."

"What won't happen? That you won't tell her or that you won't regret not telling her?" he retorted as he shook his head in disbelief at me.

"She won't flip out over it if she finds out. I mean, fuck she hasn't even told me the real reason she's here. That some madman is stalking her." I was getting pissed now; he needed to let this shit go.

"You keep telling yourself that," he replied solemnly and left the room leaving me to my own thoughts.

Thinking more and more about what Jasper had said, I decided it was time to call Emmett. I needed to know if he had any clue how much longer we'd be here. Digging my phone out of my pocket, I scrolled through my contacts list until I found his number. Hitting the send button, I began pacing the floor as I waited for him to answer.

"McCarty here," was his curt reply.

"Hey, McCarty, this is Edward Cullen," I stated as I tugged on the ends of my hair.

"Hey, man, is everything ok over there?"

"Yeah, we got it covered over here. But I do have a question for ya," I informed him.

"Ok, shoot. What do you need?'

"I realized when we agreed to take this job, you said it could be long term, but I need a time frame of how much longer we are going to be here. Jasper is getting married soon, and I do have a business back in Seattle to run. It's being handled for now, but I can't stay here forever." I didn't dare tell him that I had fallen head over heels for his agent and I wanted to know how much longer Bella and I had to linger in this perfect little bubble we were living in.

My feelings for Bella made me again question Jazz's insistence that I tell her why I was here. Did she really have to know? Would Emmett tell her that he had sent someone to watch her? She wouldn't be happy about it, so maybe he'd keep it to himself. Then it also occurred to me that I didn't want a lie hanging over us waiting to be found out and possibly ruin our relationship. One thing I had learned in my time here is that Bella was very independent and was certain she could take care of herself. I didn't doubt that she could handle herself extremely well. She wouldn't be with the bureau if she couldn't. However, that didn't mean she could do it on her own all the time.

"I don't have an exact time frame, but it won't be much longer. I won't be able to explain her absence much longer. And that's just the beginning of the shit I'm being forced to deal with," Emmett said with exasperation in his voice.

"What's going on, Emmett?" I got the distinct impression he was trying to avoid telling me something. Something big.

"A couple of days after you left, a package arrived here at the office for Bella."

"What kind of a package? Was it from that nut-job?" I had a sick feeling in my gut that what he had to say wasn't going to be good.

"Ugh…yeah… it was," he groaned into the phone.

"What aren't you telling me, Emmett? If you expect me to do my job, I have to know what the hell is going on," I growled through clenched teeth, while trying to keep my cool. This was the woman I loved he was fucking talking about. _Love? Where the hell did that come from Cullen? I am so screwed. Fucking Jasper was right. _

My hand was balled in a tight fist and my heart was pounding in a deafening thud in my head as I waited for him to fill me in.

"It's like this. He doesn't know where she is yet, but he's looking and according to him he's close to figuring it out."

"And you know this how? Did the fucker just send you a note telling you this?" I had thought this situation was fucked up before I was involved with Bella. But now…now it just made me sick. This scumbag would have to go through me to get to her. Keeping her safe was no longer just a job to me. It had become essential to me and I'd do it if it was the last fucking thing I did.

"Yeah. That's exactly what he did." Again the cold tone to his voice told me he was dead serious.

"So your telling me that this nut-job just outright sends you hard core evidence that he's looking for her and you can't do shit about it? That's fucked up, man."

Well first of all. We haven't been able to trace anything to him. He didn't sign his name to the note, but he used the same method to contact me as he has Bella. His calling card of sorts."

"Then explain something to me if you can," I requested. "Is it common for nut-jobs, phsycos, whatever you want to call them to stalk the person or people who played a part in locking them up? What's his deal? Why is he so obsessed with her?" I needed to understand why this guy was doing this shit. I felt like the more I knew the better I could keep Bella safe.

"It's a bit complicated," was his answer.

"I'm not going anywhere anytime soon form what your telling me, so give me something, anything. You want me to do my job, then give me all the tools to do it," I demanded.

"Look, there are rules and restrictions and confidentiality laws that prevent me from telling you specifics. But what I can tell you is that it is much more common than you might think. James Reynolds' behaviors are are quite common for his mental state and what he's been convicted of. All you need to be worried about is not letting anyone get to her. Let me worry about the rest.

"I'm doing that. Anyone trying to get to her will have to go through Jasper and I first," I assured him.

"That's good to know, I only brought you into this because I knew I could trust you to do the job," he told me. It was clear the whole situation was even more frustrating that he had anticipated it would be.

Still having questions I asked, "I still need to know, what do we do now? How long do you intend to keep her here? You have any kind of a time frame? As I said before I have a business to run; it's being handled right now by my other employees. However, my sister is getting married in a few weeks. Her future husband is here with me and I'm the best man. Some alternate arrangements might have to be worked out temporarily. I need time to make those arrangements." The thought of having to leave Bella here for any amount of time hit me like a kick in the gut. I had a feeling there was a lot that Emmett was holding back from me and it was going to eat at me until I knew what it was.

I heard Emmett let out a long gust of air before he answered me. I could visualize him pacing his office floor much like he had done mine a few weeks earlier. "Not much longer and I won't have any choice but to bring her back. I want to try to keep her uninvolved in the investigation, but I got the head honchos breathing down my neck. As much as I don't want to I may have to let her in on it. I'll let you know as soon as I do. My guess is a couple of weeks tops."

We spoke for a few more minutes. He reminded me to be extra alert. I didn't like it but I was going to have to figure out a way to start carrying my gun when I was out with Bella. Didn't like it at all. If she somehow saw it or found it, I would have to tell her everything, there'd be no way around it then.

I had just dropped my phone on the table when Jasper returned. Picking it back up, I raised my hand currently holding my phone up and waved it at him to indicate I had just been on it, knowing he'd take the bait.

"Who was that? Bella?" he teased.

"No," I said a bit harshly. Everything Emmett had said still fresh in my head.

"You're looking a little pale, is everything ok? If it wasn't her then who was it?" he asked.

"It was Emmett. He said a couple more weeks should do it." I stated plainly as I stared at the phone in my hand.

"Shit, that's great news; I know you've had a great time with Bella, but I'm ready to go home to your sister. She's getting pissier by the day." He must have finally picked up on my sullen mood because he then asked, "Why don't you seem as excited as I think you should be? What am I missing?"

I filled Jasper in on everything Emmett had told me. He was just as concerned as I was.

"You're going to have to start packing heat when you are with her. That dude is seriously whacked in the head," he ranted.

"Yeah, I know. I already thought about that. I don't know how the fuck I am going to explain a gun to Bella." I huffed, aggravated with the new developments.

"And to think we thought this would be a simple job and we'd go home and be done with it. What are ya gonna do now?" Jasper asked.

"As far as I'm concerned I only have one option. I have to come clean, tell her everything, and then do everything within my power to make sure she's safe. I can't let anything happen to her Jazz. It's just not an option. It never was, but even more so now."

He nodded, letting me know that he knew exactly what I was saying. He knew I was admitting just how deep my feelings for her were and that I'd do whatever it took to protect her.

Taking a quick peek at my watch I noticed that the morning was long gone and I needed to get ready to head over to have lunch with Bella and her grandmother. I gave Jasper all the specifics on the marina we'd be renting the boat out of and a general idea of the area we'd be at out on the water. Once we were done with that, I left to go take another shower in hopes that the hot water would wash away some of the stress of the morning. First though, I unzipped the bag where I had a blanket, my swim trunks and some beach towels thrown into for our outing this afternoon. Picking up my gun off the nightstand, I checked to make sure it was loaded and the safety was on before placing it in the bag. Along with my gun and I added an extra clip to the mix. Zipping the bag back up my thoughts turned back to what I needed to tell Bella. I wasn't sure how she'd take the news or how I had fallen so hard so fast for her. But one thing I knew was I wouldn't be able to live with myself if anything happened to her.

**~*BPOV*~**

It had been almost two weeks since my first date with Edward. I had spent most all of my free time with him. We had been on several dates, but had also spent a great deal of our time hanging out on the beach, swimming in the ocean and just being together. However, out of all the things we had done, I would have to admit that my favorite thing to do with Edward was kiss. His lips were so soft and warm, molding perfectly with mine every time he kissed me. There were times when I felt like I could never get enough of him kissing me and it didn't take long for me to realize the more time we spent together, the harder I found myself falling for him.

On our first day together after that first date, we went swimming and I got quite the surprise when Edward pulled his shirt off. As his arms rose in the air and the shirt went with them I was offered a view of one of the sexiest things I had ever seen. Not only was I afforded the sight of his bare chest, but Edward had a tattoo. This was not your everyday ordinary tattoo. Etched onto his skin was the image of a king cobra snake coiled and ready to strike. It was probably close to a foot long and maybe half that in width. The tattoo ran along the expanse of his sturdy ribcage. The body of the snake was black, but the head of the snake boasted piercing green eyes that reminded me so much of Edward's. As his abs moved, rising and falling with each inhale and exhale of air, it almost appeared as if the snake was moving, causing its eyes to give me the sensation as if it were watching me, peering right into the very depths of my soul. I was completely mesmerized and had to fight the urge to reach out and run my fingers along the intricate design.

I shivered and it brought his attention to the fact I'd been staring at him. He then asked if it bothered me. I told him no and asked why he had gotten it. He had explained that when he was in the army, once he had been assigned to his Special Forces team all the guys went out and got tattoos of their unit's call name when they completed their training. It was a tradition and an extreme bonding ritual amongst the team members and his team's name was obviously the Cobras.

Since that day we had gone swimming many times and it affected me the same each time I watched him remove his shirt. I think he knew it too.

Swimming and hanging on the beach wasn't all we had done. When we went out we would take turns picking what we wanted to do. On one of Edward's days to choose, he decided we would take a tour of the old ruins of the Imperial Roman Villas as well as some of the towers and forts that remained on the island.

We spent the day seeing sights that had once been inhabited by ancient rulers such as Tiberius and Augustus. At one ancient villa, we saw a watchtower that had been erected sometime in the Middle Ages on an old abandoned viewpoint, which looked out over the Gulf of Naples and was believed to have been deserted following the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Edward was particularly fascinated by the Orrico Fort. This didn't surprise me given his military background. The fort was located some thirty meters above sea level and was a semicircular structure with walls that were two meters thick. That meant converted from meters to feet, the wall was roughly six and a half feet thick. The fort had two cannons facing in the southwest and the northwest directions that would defend it from any vessel attempting to approach the island during ancient battles.

We saw a couple of other forts that day as well as the lighthouse of Punta Carena. The lighthouse built about a hundred and fifty years ago, was named after the westernmost point of the island and was said to be the second most powerful lighthouse in Italy and a very important point of reference for navigation.

On another outing we went to what turned out to be one of my favorite places to visit. The Grotta Azzurra, which was also known as Capri's Blue Grotto. You had to enter the cave while on small rowing boats with a maximum capacity for two or three passengers. I was a little freaked out when we were told to lie down while passing in to the small opening in the cave. The boatman even had to do this and pulled the boat into the cave by using a chain attached to the wall. Once inside though, the intense blue tones and magical silvery lights that emanate from objects immersed in the water were absolutely gorgeous. I had never seen such an intense or more beautiful shade of turquoise in all my life.

However, even with all the time I had spent with Edward I was still extremely nervous for today. Edward was coming to have lunch with Nana and I before he took me out on the boat he rented. The two of them had had brief encounters when he would arrive to pick me up, but had not spent any real time together.

When I heard the doorbell chime, I rushed to answer it, while Nana placed the last of the food on the table. Stepping in the door, he handed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers as he placed a soft kiss on my lips. The assortment of flowers contained dark pink Dahlias, lavender and orange roses, with sprigs of baby's breath and greenery intertwined amongst the flowers. The bright colors were very striking against each other and it reminded me that I had never taken the time to look up the meaning of the first rose he had given me.

I thanked him after I inhaled their fragrant scent and slipped my hand in his as I led him into the kitchen. Upon entering the room, I gestured with my hand towards grandmother and said, "Nana, you remember Edward," she nodded before I then said, "Edward, this is my grandmother Carmen Bacherelli."

"Good afternoon, ma'am, thank you so much for inviting me to lunch," he replied, as he charmed her by placing a quick kiss on her hand she had held out for him to shake. It made me wonder if he had such a profound effect on every woman he came into contact with. Hell everywhere we went he was constantly being ogled to the point that it was obviously blatant and ridiculous. He however seemed to be totally unaware of it all. Whether he was truly unaware or if he just pretended, I wasn't sure.

Nana motioned towards the table and told him to have a seat as I stood at the counter arranging the flowers in an empty vase I retrieved from the china cabinet.

"Can I get you something to drink? Some lemonade or glass of iced tea?" Nana asked him.

"Some lemonade would be nice, ma'am."

"Lemonade it is then," she said as she grabbed three glasses form the shelf and proceeded to pour the drinks.

On her way back to the table she stopped and patted him on the shoulder as she set his glass down in front of him and said, " I appreciate your manners, young man, but please feel free to call me Carmen or even Nana if that would be more comfortable for you." He smiled at her and nodded his head.

I knew I was smiling bright enough to light the night sky as I carried the vase full of flowers over to the table and set them in the center. As I sat down in the chair next to Edward, I realized that Nana had given him her seal of approval by giving him leave to call her by such a personal name.

While enjoying our lunch of caprese salad and prosciutto sandwiches, Edward and Nana got to know each other better as Nana grilled him with her version of twenty questions.

However, I wanted to crawl under the table and hide there from utter embarrassment at her last question.

"Do you have a girlfriend waiting for you back home, Edward?" she asked, causing Edward to cough and nearly choke on his drink.

As Nana's gaze stayed glued on Edward awaiting his answer, he turned his gaze to me. Flashing a rather amused smile while his eyes remained locked on mine he responded to her saying, "No, ma'am I don't. But I do hope to have one when someone I recently met here returns to Seattle. It seems that by some miracle we both live in the same city."

His statement made my heart warm with the knowledge that he wanted to continue to see me once we both returned to Seattle. I had worked so hard to guard my feelings and thus my heart over the years. Especially since the last time I opened it up to a man it had been broken. And here was this man that I had only known a few weeks tearing down all my defenses. I was falling in love with him and I felt as though there was nothing I could do to stop it even if I wanted to.

The way he made me feel was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. Every tingling sensation I felt, every skipped beat of my heart. For the first time in my life these feelings were all mine, not what I was sensing from someone else and I found it thrilling. The chemistry between us was so thick you could cut it with a chainsaw and I found myself craving more.

It dawned on me I had no real idea when I might be going home. I knew that Emmett couldn't keep me banished from work for much longer. I had been here more than a month now. But in realizing this I knew I was going to have to come clean with Edward about the true work related reason I was here. It was going to have to be soon too. The reality of the situation was that Emmett could call tomorrow and tell me to come home or I could end up being here after Edward left. If either happened, he would want some answers and would probably be upset if I kept it from him until the last minute.

Once we had finished eating, I tried to help Nana cleanup, but she shooed me away and told me to go enjoy my afternoon with Edward. She walked with us to the front door and as she hugged me she told me not to be too late tonight. She then whispered in my ear, "I think he's a keeper."

I nodded letting her know that I thought so too and kissed her cheek while telling her I wouldn't be late and if I was I would call. She then told Edward to take care of me and shoved us out the door.

A little over an hour and a half later, Edward and I were on our way out to sea. While he had been filling out the paperwork required to rent the boat for the afternoon, I was very surprised to find out that he had an international license so we were able to take the boat out ourselves and wouldn't need any crew.

As soon as Edward had changed into his swim trunks, he started the boat. Pulling out of the Marina we made our way out into the Tyrrhenian Sea on the north side of the island. I started to sit down in the seat behind where Edward stood driving the boat, but he had other ideas and grabbed my hand pulling me up to stand next to him. Soon we were alone on the open seas with the sun shining brightly and the wind blowing through our hair. It felt amazing.

I felt the boat's speed begin to slow and turned to look up at Edward to question him as to why. Before I could get the words out, he tugged me gently so that I was now standing trapped between his arms in front of the wheel.

He took my hands and placed them where the ten and two spots would be on a clock and leaned forward to speak with his lips right next to my ear, "You're gonna drive now."

I pulled my hands from the wheel and tried to inch away but he would have no part of it. He must have seen the look of hesitancy on my face because he instantly wrapped one arm around my waist and urged me forward keeping one hand over one of mine on the wheel. It was clear he wasn't going to take no for an answer. "I promise it's easy as driving a car," he murmured to me while placing a lingering kiss on my bare shoulder.

I wasn't sure if it was nerves over driving the boat or him being so close to me, but soon I began to relax and see that he was right that it actually was quite easy. Of course then it was hard to focus on steering the boat with his body pressed so closely up against mine.

After a short time had passed, he let go of my waist and placed his other hand back on the wheel and turned it to the right. Apparently he had done his homework and knew exactly where he wanted to go. He gently eased the throttled forward until the boat was gliding slowly along a cove. He shut the engine down and pushed the release for the anchor when we were about twenty feet from the cove wall. The dark gray color of the cliffs and rock formations above and below the water level gave the water a dark almost navy blue color. You could see other boats off on the horizon, but none of them were close enough to appear bigger than a toy floating in a pool.

Once the clanking of the anchor chain stopped Edward turned to me and flashing me his sexy smile said, "Wanna swim?"

"Out here?" I asked.

"Sure, you can't tell me you don't know how 'cause we've been swimming several times over the last couple of weeks."

"Um, I've just never swam out in the open water before," I stated nervously.

He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against mine and kissed me. My eyes fluttered shut and I melted against him relishing in the softness of his lips as they moved against mine. He could probably convince me to jump off one of the many cliffs around here if he kept kissing me like that. I was completely entranced and unaware of anything outside the two of us. As he slowly broke the kiss, he whispered, "Bella, we don't have to swim if you don't want to."

"No it's fine," I told him as I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to hide the fact that I was still slightly nervous about the open water. _Damn Jaws movies. After all I dealt with serial killers. I could do this. _

However, as soon as I watched him pull his t-shirt off and toe his shoes off, I instantly felt a heated flush creep up my neck and I could think of very little else other than getting in the water with him. Once I had my tank top and shorts I'd been wearing over my suit off, we walked to the back of the boat, him jumping in first with me following right after.

After being in the water for a few minutes, I realized how silly I'd been to be worried about it. There was just something so completely freeing about it. We swam and chased each other under the water, stopping to wrap around each other and kiss from time to time. We continued to do this until we were tired and ready to get out.

Edward helped me back up onto the boat before hoisting himself up as well. After he got our towels out of the bag he brought and we were through drying off a bit he asked if I was hungry. Before I could answer my stomach growled causing us both to laugh.

"I believe that is a yes, Ms. Swan." He kissed me on the cheek real quick and went to go get our lunch from the boats galley.

Once Edward returned, we took the basket full of goodies and the blanket he had brought up to the front deck of the boat. I spread the blanket out and we sat next to each other as he pulled our lunch from the basket. We enjoyed the various cheeses and fruits he brought along. I had just finished eating the wedge of cheese he had fed me when he pulled a pair of mangos out of the basket and offered me some. Who would have thought that being hand fed fruit and cheese could be such a turn on, but the second he leaned forward and kissed a few drops of mango juice from my lips, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

I was slowing starting to relax a bit and accept the fact that I was unable to read him and on some level found that I might even like it. He was so sweet and caring and I felt so safe when I was with him. It was like the rest of the world around us failed to exist. It was hard for me to let go completely, but I hoped that over time maybe I could. That for once in my life I could completely trust in what I saw and what my heart was telling me and not my head.

We continued to playfully feed each other and laughed at our bad aim when tossing grapes into each other's mouths. At one point he teased me saying, "I hope your aim is better when you have to shoot a gun, Ms. FBI agent." I assured him I was an excellent marksman and that once we were both back in Seattle I'd show him.

Done eating we had just started to clean up and were going to go for another swim, when we were suddenly surprised by a huge gust of wind that seemed to come out of nowhere. It nearly knocked me over and caused Edward to grab a hold of me to keep from falling as the boat started to rock back and forth from the increased wave activity in the water.

Turning around and looking out to sea, we could see dark ominous clouds that appeared to be a storm rolling in. We quickly finished gathering up our stuff and headed back below deck. When we got there I noticed my cellphone chirping from a missed call while I put my tank top and shorts back on over my swimsuit.

Edward must have noticed the look of worry on my face, and asked, "What's wrong? Who was the call from?"

"It was Nana," I replied already dialing the number to call her. "Shit, shit, shit," I cursed causing Edward to look at me slightly puzzled.

"What?" he asked as we made our way back to the cockpit of the boat.

I explained to him that I couldn't get a signal to make the call and how I was worried because Nana wouldn't call unless it was absolutely necessary..

"I'm sure we'll be able to reach her as soon as we are back on land," he told me to ease my worries.

The seas were getting pretty rough real fast so Edward was anxious to get the anchor raised and the boat started. The storm was moving much faster than we thought.

It took a little longer to get back to the marina than it had to leave due to the change in the weather conditions. It had begun raining hard and the winds and amount of lightning were increasing rapidly, making the seas quite rough. I think Edward could tell that I was freaking out just a little since I clung to him until the boat was safely docked.

Back at the marina we ran until we were inside the boat rental building. While Edward checked the boat in, I dug out my phone and called Nana.

I stood near a window watching the storm rage outside while tapping my foot nervously as I waited for Nana to answer the phone. Finally after several rings she picked up.

"Bella ,dear, are you still out on the water?"

"No, we're back at the marina returning the boat. Why?"

"Good, I am glad you are not still out there. The weather reports are encouraging everyone on that side of the island to take cover and wait it out. They said no one should be out unless it's an absolute necessity."

"Wow. It must be bad storm," I told her.

"It is. They said it could continue for a while depending on how fast it moves once it hits land." I could hear how concerned she was and I knew she would worry until she knew we were someplace safe.

"I'm going to go fill Edward in and I will let you know where we are once we figure it out. I think this building we are in now is way too close to the water to be safe."

"Be careful, dear," she warned.

"We will, Nana, I promise. I'll let you know where we are as soon as we get there."

After we exchanged I love you's I disconnected the call and then walked over towards where Edward was talking with the marina worker. "Nana says the storm is really bad. They are urging everyone on this side of the island to seek shelter and stay there. She said it will be at least a couple of hours if not longer before it blows over this end of the island."

"Well then we need to find someplace. If it's moving across the island it will be on our tails the whole time heading back to the other side. I saw several hotels up the main road on our way here. We'll head up there and wait it out."

"Ok, that sounds good. Let's go," I urged.

We drove west on the main drive to the area he had seen the hotels. The storm was intensifying quickly so Edward pulled into the lot of the first hotel we came upon.

Out of the car and in the driving rain, Edward grabbed my hand and we ran to the doors of the structure as fast as we could, leaving everything except our cellphones behind. We were absolutely drenched by the time we reached the lobby. Since we were wet we stayed close to the doors watching the rain continue to come down. At times it even appeared to be falling horizontally.

It was only a short time later when I started freezing in the air conditioned lobby. I began rubbing my arms when I felt myself shivering. Being dripping wet and standing in chilled air was not a good combination. We were also receiving several questioning looks from the hotel staff.

Next thing I knew, Edward was pulling me across the hotel lobby while saying, "Come on, I've got an idea."

I followed him until we reached the hotel gift shop. Inside Edward purchased a couple of souvenir t-shirts and shorts. He then took my hand again and led me to the front reception desk. "Edward, what are you doing?" I asked.

"You'll see," he told me and I could see him fighting the smile that was playing on the corners of his mouth.

Once the hostess was finished booking a room for us, Edward led me over to the elevators. "I can't believe you got us a room," I remarked.

"Well we couldn't sit in the lobby much longer. The hostess was giving us the evil eye, you're freezing and I'm getting cold myself. We couldn't even sit down because we're soaked. So I figured at least this way we can hang out and watch TV and I'll have room service launder our clothes while we wait out the storm." I laughed and told him he was crazy as we exited the elevator. Truth was I was extremely nervous about being alone with him in a hotel room and was doing my best to not show it.

We both felt grimy from being in the sea water and then getting caught in the rain so while Edward got first dibs on the shower, I called Nana to let her know where we were and that I'd be home as soon as the storm passed. After Edward and I had both taken our turn showering and were dry, we laughed about wearing our ridiculous looking gift shop garb.

Deciding to watch TV, I grabbed us both a bottle of water from the mini bar, while Edward called for our clothes to be picked up by the hotel's laundry service. Once that was taken care of we settled on the couch next to each other to watch a movie.

I found it increasingly difficult to focus on the movie, being overwhelmed by Edward's closeness and more specifically with thoughts and feelings I hadn't had in years. I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that we had both had on our swimsuits which meant neither one of us was wearing anything under the t-shirt and shorts we currently had on. In our haste to get out of the storm, we had left our bag with our change of clothes in his car. Although it may not have mattered much as the bag probably had gotten just as wet as we had going from the marina to his car.

Towards the middle of the movie, it was still storming pretty heavily. I was getting sleepy and slightly chilled again so I attempted to curl up in a ball to stay warm.

The couch shifted as Edward got up and went over to the bed and pulled the comforter off of it and brought it back over to me. Sitting back down he patted his lap inviting me to snuggle beneath the blanket with him. He turned sideways pulling me onto his lap, then covering us both up and wrapping his arms around me.

I was in heaven as I burrowed against his chest and rested my head on his shoulder. I also felt like a seventeen year girl old alone with her boyfriend for the first time in her parent's house.

Once I was finally able to settle down and calm the butterflies that were swirling inside me, I relaxed sliding one of my arms up to rest loosely on his shoulder and around his neck. As if they had a mind of their own my fingers were soon toying with the hair at the nape of his neck. I loved how silky soft his short tresses felt. It had become a habit of mine to tangle my hands in it whenever we kissed. It was an unconscious reaction that just seemed to happen naturally.

Edward appeared to like my hands in his hair any time whether we were kissing or not. There had been times when we would be relaxing on the beach and he would lay his head on my lap and place one of my hands in his hair, jiggling my fingers in the auburn mess as a silent plea to play with it.

I shifted my position slightly on his lap and instantly thought I was gonna die. The reaction my movement caused was unintentional, but I was acutely aware of what it had done to him. The hard evidence was right underneath me pressing into my backside. We hadn't gone past anything more than a few heated make out sessions, and though he showed signs of having similar feelings for me, I was still afraid to trust them completely. It was a repercussion of relying on my abilities for so long. I wasn't sure how I felt about taking things further. Obviously my body was screaming for me to give in to the hormones surging through me. I wanted to be able to give in and let go, but I didn't know if I could. Even though he knew what I did for a living I still hadn't told him about my real reason for my trip here and I was afraid that he'd freak out and leave. He'd indicated at lunch today that he wanted to continue our relationship when we were both back home, so I kept hoping that Emmett would call with news that the danger was gone and I could go home. Then I would never have to tell Edward.

I stilled my fingers in his hair and tried to remain as still as possible hoping that if I was it would allow him to calm as well. I decided to pretend I had drifted to sleep. I opened my eyes and looked up at him hoping to steal one last glance at his gorgeous face before I did so. However I was met with boiling pools of green that were focused entirely on me. Smiling softly at him I was stricken with the urge to lick my lips silently inviting him to kiss me_. When had I become so bold,_ I thought.

He gently brushed back the hair from my face. Lowering his mouth to mine he claimed it in a heated kiss that flooded my body with desire. If that weren't enough, one of his hands tangled in my long hair holding his face to mine, as the other slid up the back of my shirt caressing the bare skin while at the same time pulling me closer to him.

Without thinking I turned to straddle his lap causing him to moan as we went on kissing until we were out of breath. When we separated I hid my face against his neck. I had never acted so brazenly and was suddenly scared by my actions. I wanted him but it frightened me.

"Bella, what's wrong? Why do I feel like you are trying to hide from me?"

After a moment of silence I managed to speak just loud enough for him to hear me. "I'm scared."

"Scared? Baby, what are you scared of_?" If he only knew_.

He eased me back and lifted my chin so he could see my face. "Bella, please tell me what is going on in that beautiful head of yours. What could you possibly be afraid of?" he asked his voice heavy with concern and confusion.

"You."

"Me? Bella I don't—"

"Not of you exactly, but of how I feel about you. How you make me feel," I said while chewing on my bottom lip.

It was a nervous trait I'd had as a child I'd learned to control for the most part. It only surfaced over the past few years in extreme situations. It was also one of the many things I'd learned to spot in others through all the psychology classes I'd taken in college. There were all sorts of physical mannerisms that gave people's true feelings away. And while I couldn't mentally and instinctually rely on my gift to read Edward, I believed he was being honest with me. There hadn't been any physical signs that he wasn't. But there was still this little voice in the back of my mind that appeared to be waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop, as it kept telling me that I was completely clueless as to what was real and what wasn't in my hormone induced haze.

His brows furrowed as he scratched his head for a minute before asking, "What do you mean, Sweetheart?"

Sighing I lowered my head allowing my hair to fall down around my face. Unable to look directly at him, I peered through the thin veil my hair had formed and said, "I've only ever had one real relationship and it was very short lived. I've had crushes and infatuations before, but I've never experienced anything remotely close to what I feel for you. It's so strong and overwhelming and that scares me. This is all so new to me."

There it was out there. I had opened the door and now I sat waiting, daring him to tell me if he felt the same way. I had to know.

"Bella, look at me please," he implored. So I did. "I've not had many serious relationships in my time, but I've had a couple. The longest lasting a couple of years. As real as I know my feelings were for her, I can say with certainty that they never came close to what I feel for you. I know it's only been a couple of weeks, I know it feels crazy and overwhelming, 'cause I feel it too. But more than anything else I know that the short time we have been together, I have never been happier in my life. I'm going to go out on a limb here, because I feel like I have to. I feel like you need to know the truth. Bella the truth is…" He paused for a second and when he began to talk again his voice was much lower, softer, laced with emotion. "If I'm completely honest with you, I can say, I'm falling in love with you."

I sat there not uttering a word for the longest time. I was speechless. I questioned myself. _Could this really be love that we were feeling? Wasn't it too soon for such a deep emotion to have developed between us? _

It was then that I chose to look up at him and I saw the pained expression on his face. Did he regret what he had just said?

"Bella, now would be a good time to say something. I'm beginning to think I just made a complete fool of myself by admitting how much I care for you."

Realizing my silence was sending the wrong message and remembering the words Nana had spoken to me a few weeks ago about not overthinking things and following my heart, I reached up, cupping his face in my hand and bared my soul to him, " Edward, I'm falling in love with you too."

His mouth was instantly reclaiming mine in the most passionate kiss I'd ever experienced. My lips parted, opening up as his tongue forged its way through hungrily. Flinging my arms around his neck, I kissed him back with as much fervor as he was kissing me. Holding me in his arms, he stood and carried me over to the bed, lying me down on it without his mouth ever leaving mine.

That same small voice was calling to me again. Telling me that it was too soon. That I needed to stop. But I couldn't find the will to do so. I was done listening to my head. It had gotten me nowhere with men. Edward was different. He had to be. There was only one way to find out. That was the minute I let go of the last of my reservations. I gave myself over to my own emotions, to my heart.

As if sensing my reluctance slipping away, Edward rolled us so that he was partially on top of me, while grabbing my leg and hitching it up over his hip. His hand slid underneath my shirt as his hips ground into mine. Panting and gasping for air, he began trialing slow wet kisses along my collar bone from one side across to the other.

I moaned, "Edward," as he paused to suck on the sweet spot just below my ear. I became aware of his hands moving my shirt up and before I knew it, he was tugging it over my head. My heart was racing, threatening to jump right out of my chest. His kisses began to move down to the curve of my breast. His fingers toyed with the hard nipple as he licked and sucked all around it. I gasped, arching my back off the bed as he took it in his mouth.

"God, Bella, you are so beautiful" he whispered, causing me to shiver from his touch. He lowered his mouth to one breast while cupping the other in his hand. I had never felt anything so good.

My hands were knotting and tugging on his hair. My body began to respond in ways I had never felt before. I wasn't a virgin, but I was far from having any real sexual experience. The one and only time I had ever had sex, was painful and over before I'd had a chance to enjoy it at all. It was also the last time I had ever given in to my heart.

Unable to hold still I began to squirm under his touch. Edward shifted his position so that he was now kneeling over me from between my legs, completely on top of me. Kissing his way up between my breasts to my neck and over my jaw, he captured my lips with his. The kiss started slow and sensual, his lips soft and pliant as they moved over mine. However it wasn't long before we both became needy and hungry, our tongues battling for dominance as they sought out each other.

His hands slid down my ribs, past my hips until he was pulling my legs up so that they were bent at the knee and my feet were planted flat on the bed. I couldn't help grinding up into him.

He pulled away pecking small kisses all over my face. "Bella, I want you, I want to show you just how I feel about you. Let me make love to you."

Unable to say much, I nodded and whispered, "Yes."

He rose up on his knees and scooted back until his hands were resting on the waistband on my shorts. Without hesitation, he made quick work of untying the drawstring that I had used to secure the oversized shorts to my hips. Moving off the bed, he removed them leaving me lying there completely bare before him.

"Bella, are you sure about this?" he asked.

"I'm sure," I panted, still unable to fully catch my breath.

He turned around and walked out of the room. Not sure what he was doing, I was extremely confused and wondering if he had changed his mind. From the placement of the bed in the room, I couldn't see what he had done in the other room, but noticed that he had turned off the TV and all the lights.

When he returned the room was now so dark I could barely make out the shadow of his tall frame as he shrugged off his own clothing.

As he climbed back onto the bed hovering partially on top of me but off to the side I asked, "What were you doing?"

"I um… thought we should use protection," he whispered nervously.

I heard the crinkling and tearing of the foil package and realized he was opening a condom. He rose up on his knees for a moment and slid the condom on before reaching down and gently spreading my legs apart. I could feel his hard erection as it brushed against my thigh. There was no mistaking how excited he was.

Leaning forward he began kissing me. Our bodies aligned and Edward began to rub against me without entering me. As he continued to slide back and forth the friction from his repeated movements was becoming too much and I was consumed with desire for him. It was beyond a want, it had become a need.

"Edward, please," I begged.

"Please what? Tell me what you want, Bella," he ordered while continuing with his movements.

"Make love to me."

"Mmmm, not yet," he murmured as he pressed wet open mouthed kisses down the entire length of my body, only pausing briefly when he reached my breasts, and took the time sucking on each of my nipples before continuing to move down the rest of my body.

He stopped as he reached the top of my mound. Leaning down he looked up to me as if asking for permission. I had never had a man go down on me before, but I had heard other women describe how wonderful it was. Unable to make the words come out of my mouth I nodded in approval.

He hands were now on my thighs as he placed several kisses on both sides. Inching closer and closer to my wet center .He dragged his tongue up the inside of my thigh causing me to whimper in anticipation.

Slipping first one and then two fingers inside me, I moaned, Oh God," as my hips bucked off the bed in response to the combination of his touch and his mouth on me. He began moving them back and forth slowly at first and then gradually picking up the pace.

I felt myself losing control and sinking into the bliss he was stirring inside me. He curled his fingers upwards, causing me to cry out, "Oh, Edward," as I lost myself in the added sensations.

I thought I was going to come undone when he abruptly pulled away and shifted his position, moving on top of me.

Now poised at my entrance, Edward said through his heavy breaths, "It's not too late. You can still back out."

"No, I want this more than you can imagine. I want you."

"Fuck, I want you too, baby. Wrap your legs around me."

I did and felt myself shudder while he slowly entered me. Lowering his head, his mouth engulfed mine as he began moving inside me. His lips and tongue devoured mine as he steadily picked up his pace, filling me and giving me pleasure like nothing I had ever felt before or had even dared to dream of.

"You feel so good, Bella. God, you're perfect and you're mine now.

"Yes, yours," I moaned.

He continued the rhythm as we moved in unison. Matching each other stroke for stroke, back and forth driving each other to the heights of ecstasy.

Grabbing my legs and he angled them so his body was now pressed against mine. The change in his position allowed him to hit that spot deep inside me over and over again. He thrust harder, deeper, and faster and I felt myself nearing my release.

It only took a few more hard thrusts and my body was contracting tightly around him. I shuddered, screaming out his name while completely lost in my orgasm.

With a few stokes later, he exploded with his own release, crying out my name as he did.

Collapsing next to me, he rolled to his side gathering me in his arms holding me tightly against his chest. Smoothing the damp hair away from my face, he pressed a soft kiss to my forehead and ran his ringers through my tangled hair.

Neither one of us spoke, we simply laid there content in each other's arms.

A rumble of thunder alerted us that it was still storming outside as he pulled the covers over us wrapping us in a cocoon, tucked away from the rest of the world. Sleep overtook me quickly, safe in his arms. I wanted to be here forever.

**Orange roses generally mean the embodiment of desire and enthusiasm. They also often symbolize passion and excitement and are an expression of fervent romance.**

**Lavender roses are a perfect symbol of enchantment. The lavender rose is also traditionally used to express feelings of love at first sight.**

**The dark pink Dahlias mean can't stop thinking about you.  
**

**What did ya think? Don't forget you can see a bare chested picture of Edward and his tattoo on my blog. The link is on my profile page and on Monday a teaser for chapter 5 will posted. Thanks again for reading. Until next time, EA~**


	5. Black Holes and Revelations

**Hi everyone. I hope you have all had a fantastical week. The short work week from the holiday was nice in my opinion. Well I won't bore you with idle chatter. **

**Hope4more and My Bella, you both rock. Thanks for keeping me in line. I couldn't do this without ya. **

**medusainny, I hope this chapter is as coffee worthy as the others have been! les16, sorry for taunting you so much. :)**

**Just a reminder, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. **

_Oh baby don't you know I suffer?  
Oh baby can you hear me moan?  
You caught me under false pretenses  
How long before you let me go?_

_You set my soul alight  
You set my soul alight_

_(You set my soul alight)  
Glaciers melting in the dead of night  
And the superstars sucked into the supermassive_

_(You set my soul alight)  
Glaciers melting in the dead of night  
And the superstars sucked into the 'supermassive'_

_I thought I was a fool for no-one  
Oh baby I'm a fool for you  
You're the queen of the superficial  
And how long before you tell the truth_

_**Supermassive Black Hole by Muse**_

_**Overnight between June 20 & 21, 2010**_

Sometime in the middle of the night I woke up to go to the bathroom and heard my cellphone chirping from the other room. Once I finished in the bathroom I quietly made my way to my phone. Picking up the phone from the coffee table where it sat next to Edward's, I saw that it was Nana who had called not once, but several times. It was just past one in the morning and I figured by now she was sleeping. However, I then noticed it had been less than an hour since her last call so on the chance she was still up I called her knowing that she must be worried.

As she began to rattle off a slew of Italian words, I knew she was upset that I hadn't come home yet. I may not have understood a word of what she had said in her rant, but the tone of her voice conveyed her meaning loud and clear… she wasn't happy one little bit that I refused to wake Edward up and have him bring me home now that the storm had apparently died down. I had to admit, part of it was I just wasn't ready to let go of him yet. I knew if I asked he'd do it, but I wanted to crawl back in bed next to him and stay there as long as I could.

Convincing her that I would be home as soon as we woke up in the morning she hesitantly calmed down and told me to be safe. I assured her I would be. Disconnecting the call I knew I would surely hear more about how improper it was for me to be spending the night in a hotel with Edward. I loved my Nana with all my heart, but there were some things we would never see eye to eye on. Her old fashion views on sex before marriage was one of them.

Putting the phone back where it had been sitting before, I hurried back to the warm spot next to Edward in the large plush bed. As I curled up next to him, his body seemed to instinctually wrap around mine making me feel safer and more secure than I had in a very long time.

While drifting back to sleep, I found myself hoping that Emmett would have good news soon and I'd be able to go back home. The thought of having to stay here without Edward was something I didn't want to have to face.

_**June 21, 2010**_

The loud ringing of the hotel room phone tore me from the deep sleep I had been in. Squinting at the bright sunlight filling the room I tried to roll over and answer the phone, only to be tugged backwards by the two strong arms currently wrapped around my midsection. I giggled as I fell back against Edward. Memories of the night before came flooding back to me causing a huge smile to spread across my face. Life couldn't get any better than this; the happiness I was feeling right now, I never wanted it to end.

Edward had made love to me last night and it was perfect. Judging by the way his hands were currently roaming all over my body and by the hard protrusion pressing into my backside, I was certain he was eager to do so again. Maybe life could get better.

After lingering in bed much longer than we should have, Edward called the front desk to see why they had called the room this morning. Apparently the housekeeping department had tried to deliver our clothes this morning but we had never heard them at the door to answer it.

Once Edward was off the phone, he told me housekeeping would be bringing the clothes up in a few minutes. While he then called room service to order breakfast for us, I jumped in the shower.

When I stepped out of the shower, I noticed my clothes sitting on the vanity waiting for me. Once I was dried off and dressed, I opened the bathroom door while I combed through my hair and attempted to do something with it. After using the hair dryer to remove the excess water from it, I left the back down while pulling the front and sides back in a ponytail. Satisfied with my appearance I turned to leave the bathroom and was surprised to find Edward leaning against the door frame watching me with a soft smile playing on his lips. I smiled back at him, completely enchanted by his green eyes focused so intensely on me.

He reached out and gently caressed my cheek with his hand while whispering, "You're so beautiful."

His touch sent a bolt of tingles through me and it made me wonder if it would always be like this. Would his touch always cause this kind of reaction within me or was it simply because this thing between us was new and exciting? I also wondered if he felt it too.

"Thank you," I replied timidly, suddenly feeling very awkward and shy causing me to look away. He pulled me closer and cupped my face softly in his hands and raised my face allowing him to place a soft kiss on my lips.

Resting his forehead against mine he said, "It's true. Don't ever doubt it."

Not wanting to ruin our morning by arguing with him over my insecurities, I nodded. I accepted the fact he was entitled to his opinion just as much as I was, as well as the fact our views might not ever match and left it at that.

Changing the subject I asked, "Breakfast here?"

"Yeah, I was coming to let you know and couldn't help watching you. You're very alluring, Miss Swan," he said while flashing me that sexy one sided grin of his, making me want to melt into a puddle of goo.

Clearing my throat and regaining my composure I returned his obvious flirtatious compliment saying, "You can cut the charm, Mr. Cullen; you already took me to bed."

Holding me tightly, he nuzzled my neck and murmured against my skin, "Twice," then pulling away, he tugged me by the hand into the other room so we could have breakfast.

"Did you order one of everything off the menu?" I asked taking in the amount of food covering the small dining table furnished in the room.

"I wasn't sure what you'd want so I ordered a little of everything to cover what I thought you might like."

While eating we talked about the time we had spent together yesterday and I told him how much I had loved being out on the boat with him. When I explained the only other boat I had ever been on in my life was the ferry here in Italy as well as the one back home, he promised to take me out again, explaining that his parents had a small yacht and he was free to use it any time they weren't. He also talked about possibly taking a day trip to the mainland and seeing some of the sights there. I was all for it.

By the time we were through with breakfast I had eaten much more than I should have. "I'm sorry, I don't normally stuff myself like a Thanksgiving Day turkey."

"No need to apologize, Bella. You were hungry, you ate. To be honest I'm glad you're not one of those women who pick at their food like they are afraid to eat for fear of gaining a fraction of an ounce."

"Good, cause that's not me," I stated.

"I'm glad, I like you just the way you are. Besides, I'd like to think I played a part in helping you work up that appetite," he teased while winking at me.

We cleaned up our mess a bit and then gathered our things in preparation to leave. Just before we reached the door to the room, Edward stopped and turned me to face him.

Pressing me against the wall he stared straight into my eyes then swallowing hard before saying, "I want you to know that I don't take what's happened between us lightly. It's been a while since I have been with anyone and what we shared was amazing. I just…I just hope that you don't think I planned it. I know we haven't talked much about it, but I meant what I said yesterday at lunch. I want to continue seeing you after we are both back in Seattle."

I smiled at his apparent nervousness. Wanting to assure him I said, "I want that too, and for the record I don't think you planned it. I'm not even sure I understand why you would think that."

"Um, because I had protection with me," he mumbled, obviously still not sure that I was ok with what happened between us.

"So because you had a condom, that's what this is about? That's why you're worried?"

"Well, yeah. But I want you to know that it's been in my wallet for several months. It's be—"

I reached up and laid two of my fingers over his mouth to shush him before he could say anything else.

"It's ok. I am not put off at all by the fact that you had a condom in your wallet. I don't have any regrets about what happened here last night. As far as I am concerned it was the best night of my life. Something beautiful, that I never want to forget. So please stop worrying before you give yourself a heart attack."

He smiled against my fingers and kissed them before pulling them away from his lips.

"No regrets."

"None," I reiterated.

Lowering his mouth to mine he encased my lips with his. I could feel the tension he had been experiencing over not being sure of how I felt, drain from him as he relaxed and poured all of his emotion into the kiss. I was beginning to like the fact that I couldn't read him. Instead of being overwhelmed by his emotions, all I could feel were my own for a change and it was amazing.

When were arrived back at Nana's house I half expected her to be sitting on the front porch waiting for me. But she wasn't and I was grateful that. If I was going to be forced to endure a lecture from her, I truly didn't want Edward to witness it.

Edward walked me to the door and offered to face the wrath of Nana with me, but I told him I would be fine and would call him as soon as I was finished getting run through the ringer by her. He was leaning in to kiss me when the front door was flung open by a less than joyful Nana, who was wielding a large wooden spoon in her hand. Upon seeing Nana's hand twitch like she was itching to whack him with the spoon, Edward quickly said he'd talk to me in a little while and was gone. I couldn't help but giggle as I watched him run off like a small child who had been properly scolded for being naughty.

I was determined to not let Nana spoil my good mood. I was after all a grown woman and capable of making my own decisions. I tuned to her and said, "Good morning, Nana," while flashing her a huge smile.

"Morning," she spat as she let out a huff and turned to walk back into the house.

I followed after her ready for her interrogation. Hopefully she wouldn't be too angry with me

"Sit down, I'll make you some lunch," she insisted, waving her hand in the direction of the empty stool at the large kitchen island.

"I'm not hungry. We had breakfast right before leaving the hotel."

"Then sit anyways and I'll get you a glass of iced tea." She wasn't leaving me any other option so I did as she ordered, while listening as she continued to scold me. "Don't you think you should know this man a little better before you go off spending the night with him?"

"I know quite a bit about him actually. We have talked a lot about each other and our lives over the past few weeks," I said defending myself and my actions.

"Hmm…I suppose maybe you have," she conceded.

"Nana, I'm sorry if I worried you last night. That wasn't my intention." It truly wasn't. But I also couldn't make up some story about falling asleep because she would know better, and while I didn't want to lie to her, I also didn't want to let on to what had happened between Edward and I. So I stuck with a simple apology hoping that it would be enough.

"I know that, child, I just don't want to see you move too quickly and get your heart broken."

"Weren't you just telling me a few weeks ago to trust my heart? To not overthink things and listen to what I felt?" I asked.

"That was before he kept you out all night," she retorted as she moved about the kitchen pulling together the items she wanted to prepare lunch for herself.

"Nana, please, I'm twenty-five years old, I am hardly a child," I pleaded for her understanding. I was a grown woman, capable of making my own choices and been doing so for a few years now.

"I certainly hope this isn't a habit you have. Behaving this way, staying out all night with the men you're dating."

"No. I don't. In fact he's the first man I've ever stayed out with all night," I informed her.

She stopped and watched me for a few minutes. As she did, I could see her facial expression softening. She knew I was telling the truth.

"Are you in love with him? You were positively glowing this morning when I opened the front door."

"Yes I think so," I admitted to her while staring out the window over her shoulder.

"Does he feel the same for you?"

My eyes caught hers when she asked this question and remained there as I answered her. "I believe so. We both admitted to having very strong feelings for each other last night and that we both felt as though we were headed in that direction. But did he say the actual words? No."

She didn't say anything, just nodded her head and went on making her lunch.

"Do you think it's too soon to feel so strongly?" I asked her unsure.

She didn't answer. She simply went about placing the meats and cheeses she had used to make her sandwich back into the fridge. After sitting down on the stool next to me and taking a bite of her food, she appeared to be contemplating what she wanted to say.

Finally she spoke. "If there is one thing I have learned in my many years on this earth, it's that you can't put a time table on affairs of the heart. The heart wants what it wants. Only you can be certain of your feelings for him and if you are sure that you love him then I would trust in that, have faith in yourself."

We both remained relatively silent for the rest of the time it took her to eat her lunch. I finished the glass of tea she had made me and was about to go upstairs and call Edward when Nana said, "Oh, I forgot to mention that you received a package this morning. It was sitting on the doorstep when I got the mail. Your young man must really be smitten to send you gifts when he hadn't even bothered to bring you home yet." She smiled widely and had a twinkle in her eye that let me know even if she hadn't approved of my staying out with him last night she was more or less giving me her stamp approval of Edward.

"Where is it?" I asked anxious to see what he had sent, thinking he must have had it sent while I was in the shower this morning. I was already trying to imagine what it could be_. Probably more flowers,_ I thought.

"It's on the dining room table. Although I must say I am curious as to why he switched from roses to fruit."

"Fruit?" My breathing hitched as I stopped dead in my tracks. I was immediately trembling at the mention of the word.

"Yes, dear, a box of apples."

She turned to face me and I instantly knew that she was seeing and feeling every ounce of fear that was coursing through my body. I grabbed onto the stair rail for support, feeling as though I could pass out. Nana was immediately next to me, brushing my hair from my face and asking, "Isabella, child, what's wrong? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Finding my voice I managed to ask, "Where did you say they were?"

"The dining room. Talk to me, child, there is a horrible aura of fear surrounding you." Her voice wobbled slightly as she placed her hand on my shoulder, silently pleading with me to tell her what was going on.

I forced myself to take the necessary steps to get me to the room. Nana followed right behind me the entire way. As soon as I entered the room, I saw the box sitting there. It was similar to all the others I had received. The rest had all been identical and coming from the same orchard. This one was a little different I guessed due to having been purchased here on the island.

My hands shaking, I lifted the lid to the box certain of what I would find there. This was not from Edward, this was from _him_. Somehow he had found me.

Just as I knew there would be, the second I removed the lid, there on top of the red apples, sat an envelope. So many thoughts began to race through my mind. How had he found me? When would this stop? What did he want? Why me? Was he trying to ruin my life for my part in his conviction?

Another wave of fear surged through me weakening my legs and causing Nana to rub my back in effort to calm me down. "Take a deep breath and settle down, dear, you're going to hyperventilate," she whispered standing next to me, rubbing my back.

Slowly I reached out and retrieved the note. Opening it up, I saw it was just like all the others. The words had been written in the very same scrawl as all the others. I'd recognize that handwriting anywhere. This time the note said, _My dearest Isabella, you can run but you'll never be able to hide. _

"Damn it," I shouted, slamming my fist clenched around the note down on the large table.

"What's going on, Isabella, you're frightening me."

Unable to stand any longer, I scooted out one of the chairs and slumped down in it. Nana took the note from my hand and read it. Pulling out the chair next to me and sitting down, she took both of my hands in hers and asked, "What does this mean? Is this from that man you told me about?"

"Yes, and it means he found me. I don't know how. But he has." Tears now spilling down my face I looked up at her, "I don't understand. I was supposed to be safe here. He wasn't supposed to find me."

The realization of it all hit me. He found me. I wasn't safe anymore. And worse than that, Nana was no longer safe. There was only one thing I could do. I wasn't running from this anymore. Emmett had had more than a month to figure this out and apparently he hadn't. I was not sitting on the sidelines any longer. It was time to fight back. I'd go over Emmett's head if I had to.

Wiping away the tears from my face I got up and said to Nana, "Come on, we have to get out of here. You need to pack a bag quickly and make sure you grab your passport."

"What in the world are you talking about?" she asked.

"We're leaving. I have to go back to Seattle and I am not leaving you here now that that madman knows where you are. I'll take you to Forks to stay with my parents and then I am going to figure out what he wants from me. This has to stop."

Feeling a wave of determination come over me, I squared my shoulders and stood tall. I had been trained for this type of situation. It was time to use it and not let James Reynolds ruin my life.

"Are you sure that's really necessary?" I could hear the doubt in her voice. She didn't fully realize the magnitude of the situation.

"Yes it is. He's in jail, Nana, solitary confinement. I'm certain now more than ever that he has to have an accomplice. That means the accomplice is probably on the island now. Possibly watching us right now. We have to go."

"Ok. I need to call Irina she'll worry if I don't show up for our regular get-togethers. I won't be long," she said as she got up and headed towards the stairs.

I tossed the apples in the trash after taking a picture of them with my cell phone and stuffed the note in my pocket knowing I'd need to show it to Emmett. I then headed upstairs to my room to throw my stuff in my suitcase and be ready to leave as soon as Nana was.

While moving about the room gathering my things, the vase holding the flowers Edward had given me yesterday came into view. Nana must have brought them up here for me after Edward and I had left. That's when it occurred to me that if I was being watched here on the island then surely I had been seen with Edward. That of course meant he could be in danger as well. There might only be a remote chance of him being harmed, but it had been unlikely for me to have been found here in Italy and yet I was. My heart told me I couldn't take the chance and not tell him. The question was how much did I tell him? Not having any time to waste I picked up the phone and called him.

As the plane took off for the second part of our flight, I was able to relax a little. After taking the ferry to the mainland we had to wait three hours for our flight out of Naples to London. Despite Edward and Nana's attempts to distract me and calm me down, I was on pins and needles the entire two hour flight.

We now had a long thirteen hour flight from London to Seattle. Edward and I were sitting next to each other; he was in the aisle seat while I was next to the window. Nana was sitting across the aisle from Edward and me, reading a book she had brought along with her.

I had been surprised yet extremely grateful when Edward had agreed to leave with me and did it without putting up a fight. He accepted my explanation that it was related to my job and because of that I couldn't give him all the details. I simply told him all I could say was I was being watched by a criminal I had helped convict and because of that he was also in danger given the likelihood he had been seen with me. After I briefly expressed some concern for his partner, Edward quickly assured me that due to his army training Jasper could take care of himself. Fifteen minutes later Edward was at Nana's front door and the three of us left together.

Resting my head on Edward's shoulder, I closed my eyes, letting out the breath I felt like I had been holding since seeing the fruit sitting on Nana's dining room table. Edward sensing my unease gently squeezed my hand, rubbing it with the pad of his thumb in an effort to help me calm down. It amazed me how such a simple gesture could have such an effect on my emotions.

Unable to completely shut out the barrage of thoughts bombarding my mind, I started going over everything I could think off to determine how Reynolds would have been able to find me. When I had last talked to Emmett he had mentioned the possibility of an internal leak. But even so that person would have had to stay put in Seattle to maintain appearances. The note left with the apples in Italy had been written in the exact same handwriting as all the others I'd received. The apples had been purchased on the island. That much was clear from the Italian lettering on the box, plus Nana had recognized the orchard's name. Since there was no way the handwriting could have been duplicated, this told me that whoever left the apples and note behind had come from the states with the note already written. And because it couldn't have been the possible leak in the bureau, it had to be someone else. But who? Did Reynolds have more than one accomplice? Was Emmett wrong in his assumption that the accomplice was a rogue agent?

I started trying to remember if I had seen anyone suspicious around the island or if I had seen the same person at more than any one place. Capri was a relatively small island but the probability of seeing the same person in more than one location was unlikely.

The only place that Nana and I had gone to frequently was the market. Yes I had seen familiar faces there, but that was because they were vendors working at the market. Any other time I had been anywhere, it was with Edward. The only other people who were aware of my being here were Nana's friends and the slew of young men she had paraded in front of me that first day. But Nana knew them all. They all lived on the island and most of them were sons of her friends.

In my mind I began to trace my entire time in Capri. The first week had been filled with catching up with Nana, filling her in on what the rest of my family had been up to. Although I was certain she spoke to my mother on a regular basis, she had said my mother never gave the juicy details, just the basics. Therefore she wanted my take on everything. Once the first week was up, the only change in the normal routine that Nana and I had fallen into was my meeting Edward.

As soon as the thought flitted through my mind, I fought with the sudden urge to jerk my hand out of his and curl up into a ball. My body tensed and my breath froze in my chest with the thought that Edward could possibly be working with James Reynolds.

Edward must have sensed my sudden apprehension and took it for fear of the situation as he, leaned over and kissed my forehead and whispered against my ear, "It's ok, sweetheart, I won't let anyone hurt you." I fought the urge to pull away from him as he did so.

I hated where my thoughts were now taking me. Was our meeting just a coincidence after all? The first night probably was, but he had known where to find me after that. And interestingly enough he seemed to appear at just the right moment when I'd be outside to see him on the beach. Nana had written his appearance off as a deduction of the obvious, that her house was the only other location from which I could have come from. But was that really the case? Could he have already known where I'd be? The thought that he could be working for someone so sick and demented had me feeling violently ill causing me to instantly jump up out of my seat and after quickly scooting past Edward; I hurried down the narrow aisle to the airplane lavatory. As soon as the lock clicked on the door, I was bent and hurling the contents of my stomach into the stainless steel bowl.

I continued heaving until there was nothing left in me. After gasping and catching my breath, I wiped my mouth on a paper napkin and leaned against the sink for support. _What the hell have I done_? I thought to myself.

Could I have fallen in love with a monster? No it wasn't the monster I'd fallen for; it was the man the monster had pretended to be. I felt my stomach lurch again at the thought of allowing myself to be so completely and utterly duped. I trusted this man with my heart. I brought him into my grandmother's home. God how had he fooled her too? Was that why he so readily accepted my gift? It would certainly make his job easier. He wouldn't have to worry about me being able to see through the charade he was carrying out.

But then my thoughts turned to everything we had shared. Why would he go through all the trouble to spend so much time with me, and to pretend to be falling in love with me as well? He had told me last night that he was and I couldn't detect a hint of wavering in his voice; nothing that would indicate he was lying.

As my brain kicked into shrink mode, I tried as hard as I could to see if I had missed any signs. Just some small detail that may have clued me in.

Nothing. There was nothing I could remember that would have led me to believe he had dropped any clues as to the cruel game he was playing. No physical signs at all whatsoever to go on. I had seen nothing but honesty and true emotion any time I looked into his eyes, and I had found myself doing that frequently. Maybe this whole ordeal was finally becoming too much for me and causing me to question anyone and everyone around me. Maybe I was becoming paranoid.

There were three things I was certain of though, one, I had to go out there and pretend that I was simply suffering from a bad case of motion sickness. I knew Nana, would surely pick up on my lie, but I also knew she wouldn't call me out on it until we were alone. She would know that as much as I value honesty that if I felt the need to tell a lie there was good reason for it.

Second, as soon as I was back in Seattle I was going to use every bit of investigative knowledge I had to check into every facet of Edward's life. That is if Edward Cullen was his real name.

And third, I wanted to be wrong. With everything in me I wanted to be wrong. Last night I had told him I was falling in love with him, but in reality I was well past falling. I _was_ in love with him. Or at least who I thought he was, and I wanted that person to be the real him.

I was startled from my thoughts by a knock on the door and Edward's voice asking, "Bella, honey, are you ok?"

Telling him that I'd be out in a minute I splashed some cold water on my face and rinsed out my mouth. Unlocking the tiny restroom door, I looked up at him and forced a slight smile and mumbled, "Motion sickness."

He gave me a small nod and followed me back to our seats. Glancing at him quickly as I sat down, he had a look on his face as if he wanted to ask me something, but for some reason was holding back. Knowing it was the only way I was going to keep myself together for the remainder of the flight, I took the pillow provided by the airline and leaned against the wall, hoping that maybe I could fake sleep well enough that he wouldn't catch on. With one last deep breath I closed my eyes and began a charade of my own, wishing I could sink into a black hole somewhere instead of face the possibility of my recent revelation.

_**June 22, 2010**_

It was nine o'clock the next morning by the time we had landed in Seattle and retrieved our luggage. I was grateful that I had insisted on taking myself to the airport and not taking Rose up on her offer to drive me. I was anxious to go to the office and begin to figure out the nightmare my life had become. Not knowing how to get out of it without arousing suspicion, I agreed to drop Edward off at his company. He said his partner had driven to the airport and he hadn't thought to ask him for the keys in his haste to leave so quickly. The whole way, he tried to talk me into letting him drive to Forks with me. I was finally able to convince him it wouldn't be a good idea considering I was already going to deliver disturbing news to my family. I told him I didn't need to cause anymore shock by bringing him along with me. My father was going to be overprotective enough as it was. Edward eventually conceded when Nana agreed with my reasoning and reminded him that my father was a police officer and therefore had the right to carry a gun. Actually, so did I and I had one in my car, but he didn't need to know that. I knew Nana could sense something was up. She knew I was lying. I saw it in the expression on her face. But I couldn't very well explain it to her now.

Pulling into the parking lot next to the warehouse where Edward's company was housed, he asked me to come inside for a minute. I nodded and got out of the car, following Edward to the door of the building. When he was just about to go in I lightly grabbed his arm and asked him to wait.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Thinking quickly I replied, "I don't want to leave Nana out here alone and I know she's tired from the long flight."

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive to Forks with you?" He appeared to be genuinely worried, but I had to distance myself now so that I could figure out what was real and what wasn't.

He pulled me into his arms and I tried to relax enough that he would question me any further. It was hard though. I was so torn between wanting to give into the comfort and security of the man I thought he was, and run from the man I was afraid he was hiding.

When he gently cupped my face and lifted it, I knew he was going to try and kiss me. He leaned forward and at the last second I turned my head forcing him to kiss my cheek instead of my lips.

Looking down at me with a confused and slightly stunned expression on his face, Edward asked, "Bella, why won't you kiss me?"

"Um… Nana is watching and I…uh probably have dragon breath or worse." I commented with a forced smile, hoping it would be enough to keep him from pressing the issue.

"Bella, you're being ridiculous," he insisted.

"Maybe so, but we've been on an airplane for an ungodly amount of time, I threw up on said airplane and have not been able to brush my teeth. I'm sorry." _Please don't push me on this_, I thought.

"Fine," he said.

I was certain I detected a hint of hurt in his voice and in his eyes, which didn't make my situation any easier. It made me wonder if he possibly could have come to the island to do James Reynolds' dirty work and fallen for me in the process. If maybe he was being forced to do the monster's bidding somehow. There were so many questions in my head I couldn't think clearly. I needed to get out of here before I had a moment of weakness and just outright asked him. If Nana had not been with me, I may have done just that, but I wouldn't put her in harm's way.

I tried to back away from him, but he held on to me and hugged me once again, asking me to promise to call him as soon as we got to my parent's house. I said that I would. He then walked me back to the car and opened the door for me.

Just as I was about to get in, he leaned forward and kissed my forehead and said, "Be safe."

I nodded and mumbled, "I will," before climbing behind the wheel of the car. He closed the door and I quickly pulled away. Glancing in the rearview mirror as I drove off the parking lot, I saw him standing there watching me leave. I felt as though my heart was being ripped in two.

Nana sensing everything that I was feeling asked, "What's going on, child? Your emotions have been all over the place since you got sick yesterday and you've been lying to that young man of yours. Why?"

"I can't tell you yet, Nana. At least not yet. Please trust me when I say as soon as I have the answers I will tell you everything," I pleaded hoping she wouldn't press me any further.

"Alright. But I will not let this go for long. I trust that you must have good reason for your actions so I will leave it alone for now." With that she patted my hand in a motherly fashion and I smiled at her reassuringly, letting her know how grateful I was for her love and understanding.

I turned the radio on wanting a distraction for the next few hours. While driving I started to formulate a plan in my mind. First I had to get Nana safely to my parent's house and then I would have to inform Emmett of my return and why. After that I would start digging into just who Edward Cullen really was.

**Any theories? I'd love to hear them. Thanks for your continued reviews and support. You guys rock my world. A teaser for chapter 6 will be on my blog by Monday morning. Link is on my profile. **

**Until next time, **

**EA~  
**


	6. Decode

**Hi, everyone. I know a lot of you were a little frustrated after the last chapter. So all I ask is that you hang with me for the next couple of chapters while Edward and Bella both discover some interesting information. **

**Thanks to Hope4more and My Bella for all their help, I couldn't do it without them. And of course as always, the wonderful Stephenie Meyer owns it all.  
**

_How can I decide what's right?  
When you're clouding up my mind  
Can't win your losing fight  
all the time_

_Not gonna ever own what's mine  
When you're always taking sides  
You won't take away my pride  
No, not this time  
Not this time_

_How did we get here?  
when I use to know you so well  
How did we get here?  
Well, I think I know_

_**Decode by Paramore**_

**~*BPOV*~**

**_June 22, 2010_**

After arriving in Forks late in the afternoon, I wanted nothing more than to turn around and immediately head back to Seattle so that I could start digging into Edward's past as well as inform Emmett of what had happened in Italy. However, my father wouldn't hear of it. He refused to let me drive in my current state of exhaustion and emotional turmoil.

It had been a good thing since shortly after my head hit the pillow on my childhood bed, I was out, indulging in a long and much needed nap. Right before closing my eyes, I had seen my phone light up with a call from Edward. Fearing I'd be a blubbering mess if I heard his voice, I sent him a quick text message to let him know I had arrived safely and was busy getting the third degree from my police chief father. Yes I was reminding him my dad was a cop. If he was working for James Reynolds, I wanted him to know that he was going to be in deep shit on so many levels.

I had gotten the third degree from Charlie, but I'd been able to dodge answering many of my father's questions by giving him the ole FBI confidentiality excuse. I told him what I could about Reynolds and the apples, and that I had been tracked down at Nana's, but I left out everything about Edward. I knew that if I had filled him in on my suspicions he'd be the one on his way to Seattle as not only a cop, but as a father whose only daughter's heart was on the verge of being broken and whose safety was at risk.

I was grateful Nana had honored my wishes to not say anything about Edward at all. I told her I wanted to see how things went now that we were back in Seattle and back to the pressures of real life before I brought our family into the mix. Seeing right through me, she told me I had better have a good reason for all the tall tales I was spinning and she expected to have answers soon. I again assured her I did have good reasons and as soon as I had all the answers, she would too. After all, what I had told her wasn't a complete lie. If after investigating Edward I found that he was who he said he was, then I would indeed do just as I told her, see how things went and go from there. One thing I had seen that he had been truthful about was his company. It was located exactly where he had said in the industrial area of downtown Seattle. I wanted for it to be a sign that maybe he had been honest about everything else, but I was afraid to get my hopes up just yet. I have spent most of my life catching people telling lies. I had always relied on it and it was going to be difficult accept that I couldn't do that with Edward.

After my long nap, I spent a quiet evening with my family, including my brother Alec, his wife Jane, and their son Landon. My nephew proved to be a much needed distraction from all the chaos in my life. He was adorable explaining that his mommy was going to have a baby brother for him to play with. When I had asked him what if it was a baby sister, he said that it wouldn't be because girls were yucky. My sister in law rolled her eyes at her son's silly statement as the rest of us laughed at his antics.

**_June 23, 2010_**

The next morning, after swearing to my dad that I would go straight to Emmett and let him know why I was back, I was on my way back to Seattle. Being the overprotective father he was he had admitted to me that he'd ask me to resign if his own job didn't entail the risk that it did. But knowing it did, he said it would be a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. He also knew that like him, I took great pride in my work.

Once back in Seattle I found it hard not to drive by Edward's company. Only when I got there had I realized I'd have no idea whether he was there or not since I had no clue what kind of car he drove. I did see a few vehicles parked in the lot. There was a yellow Porsche and a red mustang that looked pretty awesome from what I could see as I drove by. I also noticed there were several lights on in the building, but couldn't tell if anyone was in there.

After stopping at the post office to pick up the mountain of mail that had accrued over the time I'd been gone, I pulled into my driveway. It felt good to be home. I popped the trunk and lugged out my suitcase. Pulling it by the handle into the house, I left it by the laundry room door. I quickly scanned through my mail and checked my answering machine for messages. I wasn't surprised there weren't many since most everyone had known I'd be gone. Anyone that mattered, that is, considering I didn't have much of a social life.

I hadn't showered before I'd left Forks, being in such a hurry to get out of there, so I jumped in the shower and got dressed in a pair of black dress slacks, a royal blue silk wrap blouse and black flats. I didn't feel much like messing with my hair so I pulled it back in a messy bun and quickly applied some mascara and lip gloss. After rolling my sleeves up a couple of times, I grabbed my laptop bag, purse, keys, badge and ID before heading to the kitchen to get a bottle of mountain dew from the fridge. Once I had the soda in hand, I started tossing the rest of the items into my purse. Checking to make sure I had my cellphone, I saw the flashing icon on the screen indicating I had several missed calls. Picking it up and scrolling through the list, I saw they were all from Edward. Resisting the urge to call him, I added the phone to the rest of the junk in my purse. After some serious soul searching last night and this morning, I had decided to cut ties now in case my hunch was right. If it wasn't and he truly cared for me then he would understand. At least that's what I kept telling myself.

Parking in my assigned spot, I got out of my 2010 electric blue Hyundai Tiburon, locked it, set the alarm and then made my way to the elevator and up to the thirty-fifth floor. As I walked through the office everyone had the same question or remark. When did you get back, or I didn't know you were back, and lastly, does McCarty know you're here? I noticed a few people were missing, the most notable one was Jacob Black, but that was actually a relief. With all I was already dealing with, the last thing I wanted was another confrontation with him. Seeing that it was just past one in the afternoon, I figured he was gone to lunch and I'd have the unfortunate luck of bumping into him later.

As I got to the short hall where a few private offices were located, I noticed a couple of the doors open with no one inside as I passed by on the way to my own office_. Must be out on a case_, I thought. My door was the only one that didn't have the term "special" before the word agent and their name on the door. I hadn't been here long enough to garner that title. I had been officially labeled as a criminal psychologist since the FBI was not about to admit to hiring me for my human lie detecting abilities. I could see the headlines now: _FBI turns to human freak to capture the bad guys. _No one wanted any part of that type of publicity.

I sat down at my desk and pulled my laptop out of my bag and turned it on. After resetting the wireless options to connect to the bureau's server, I was ready to begin my research on Edward. But I realized I first needed to talk to Emmett. If I was going to be digging into Edward's background, I needed it to be done in an official capacity so that if I did discover something there were no loopholes that would forbid the information from being used against him. Taking a swig of my soda and popping a piece of gum in my mouth, I was half way out of my chair when there was a light knock on my door.

"Come in," I hollered, while plopping back down in my chair.

The door opened and in walked Jessica. "Hey, Bella, when did you get back?" she asked. Her office had been one of the empty ones I had passed on my way in.

"Just a few minutes ago."

"Does McCarty know you're here yet?" she asked surprised since no one was aware I was returning.

"No, I was just on my way to go see him. Is he in his office?"

"Yeah I think so. Look I came back here because there's a delivery guy out front looking for you. At first I told him he was crazy that you weren't here, but he insisted that I check to make sure," she informed me.

I stiffened slightly at her announcement worried that Reynolds had sent me yet another box of apples and another message, which would mean he knew that I was no longer in Italy.

"Um… is it a box?" I asked hesitantly.

"No, but they're gorgeous. Go see for yourself. Oh and you might want to hurry, the delivery guy said he was pressed for time."

I pushed myself up from my desk and walked with Jessica to the front office. Standing there was the delivery guy looking extremely impatient. As soon as I saw what he was holding I knew exactly who had sent them. Digging in my pocket for some cash to give the guy a tip, I pulled out a five dollar bill and handed it to him. He held his hand up and waved away my tip telling me that it had already been taken care of. I smiled and thanked him for his honesty. Some of the delivery guys I had seen in this building would probably take the extra tip and not think twice about it. Wanting to leave, he handed me the vase containing more than a dozen of the most beautiful red roses I had ever seen. Seeing there was a card and being fairly certain the roses were from Edward, I tried to hurry back to my office.

Jessica was hot on my heels, calling after me, "You find a man while you were gone, Swan?"

I flipped her the bird knowing she'd take it in stride and once reaching my office I closed the door and locked it this time.

Sitting the vase down on my desk, I sat down and buried my face in my hands. Not wanting to fall apart here, I fought to control the surge of emotion welling up inside me. I had yet to look up the meaning of the lavender or orange roses Edward had given me, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know what the red ones stood for.

Unable to resist the urge to see what the note said, I reached for the card, my hand shaking the whole way. Fumbling to open the small envelope I pulled out the card and read it.

_Can't stop thinking about you. Why won't you return my calls? I miss you, Edward _

Reading it a second time was all it took to unleash the tears I had been fighting back. This whole situation had me so confused. My nerves were already frayed due to the situation with James Reynolds, and now everything I was thinking and feeling about Edward didn't help make matters any better. I wanted with everything I had in me to believe Edward was a good guy. To believe he was the man who had stolen my heart. But there were just too many coincidences that needed to be checked out before I could let myself have anything to do with him again. And his note with the flowers didn't help matters any. It was hovering on the side of controlling and possessive, which only led me back to my suspicions about him.

Calming down I grabbed a couple of Kleenex to dry my eyes and noticed the black smudges on the tissues. Knowing I needed to pull myself back together before I went to see Emmett I dug through my purse for my mascara and headed towards the ladies room hoping no one would see me.

Of course I couldn't be that lucky. Jessica spotted me right away. Catching a glimpse of my tear stained face, she asked, "The note was that sweet it made you cry?" To which I shot her a dirty look letting her know now was not the time for her nosy pestering ways. I liked Jess, she was a good agent, and you could trust her to have your back in any situation, but sometimes she could be annoyingly nosy and I was in no mood for it today.

Staring at myself in the ladies room mirror I saw just how pathetic I looked. It was so hard to deal with everything. To think that I could have fallen in love with the enemy. Then on top of it all, he sends me roses, which only served to confound me further. If he were the enemy why would he keep up the charade? As a sob wracked though my body and the tears began to fall again, I slumped against the wall and let it out. I couldn't help thinking that I should have known. For the first time in my life I couldn't detect lies and I get screwed. Literally. _Great choice of words there, Bella_. But even as I stood there thinking I had been a complete and utter fool, I didn't want to believe it. I wanted his love for me to be as true as mine was for him.

Dragging myself off the wall, I took a few steps to the bathroom vanity. Turning on the faucet I splashed some cold water in my face, then dried it using the paper towels from the wall mounted dispenser, which were entirely too harsh to be used on anyone's face. Once I was finished, I took a few deep calming breaths and set about fixing my mascara. Just as I made the last swipe of my lashes, I heard a knock on the door and Jess's voice ask, "Bella, are you ok?"

"I'm fine," I said while twisting the cap back on the makeup bottle and taking one last look at myself in the mirror. My eyes may have looked better, but my red tipped nose and stuffy, nasally sounding voice were lingering effects from the tears I had cried.

"Can I come in?" she asked as she was already opening the door. "Do you need to talk?" was her next question.

_No. _I turned around to face her. "I'm just not feeling well. I'll be ok; I think I ate something rancid on the flight home yesterday."

"Um… if you want that to be your official story I don't have a problem with it, I'll back you up. But, Bella, I heard you crying. Are you sure you don't need someone to talk to? Is this about those roses you got?" I could sense that she was being completely sincere in wanting to help and not just being a nosy busy body.

"Sorta. They're part of it, "I mumbled.

"Ugh a good man is so hard to find these days."

I stared at her for a minute with her short cropped hair and her plain dress slacks and her almost masculine looking button down blouse and burst out laughing.

"What?" she said, trying to keep a serious face as she watched me come unglued in laughter. She was unable to hold the straight faced expression and a huge smile formed on her face while she too started laughing.

Holding my sides as I struggled to quit laughing, I said to her through my giggles, "You do realize how hilarious that is coming from you. I'm sure Lauren would love to know that you've become an expert on finding good men."

"Well you know, good men, good partners we are all looking for the same good qualities no matter if we're looking for men or women to share our lives with."

"That's a valid point I suppose."

"Besides, Lauren knows there is no one else for me but her," she stated proudly.

"I'm sure she does. Maybe that's what I should do. Just give up on men altogether. Got any available friends?" I teased.

"That bad huh?" she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh, you have no idea. Truth is it could be so much worse if what I fear is true," I said lowering my voice and gazing at the floor.

"What is he cheating on you or something?"

"Or something, but I'm not sure yet."

"Well then don't you think you need to get all the facts before you go jumping off a bridge on assumptions? You know what they say happens when we assume."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know the whole ass out of you and me thing. But you are right; I need to find out some stuff before I throw him under the bus."

We were both quiet for a few minutes and I could feel she was glad to have been able to cheer me up. "Thanks Jess, I appreciate the chat and the pep talk," I told her sincerely.

"Anytime," she offered while nudging me with her shoulder.

She left and after blowing my nose one last time, I headed towards Emmett's office.

As I approached his office, the door was open, but I noticed he was on the phone. Knocking to let him know I was there, he spun around in his desk chair and I didn't know who he was talking to, but whoever it was they were talking about me. I was certain of this because as soon as Emmett laid eyes on me, he immediately said, "I have to get back to you on that. I need to go; she just walked into my office. Yeah she is. I'll let ya know about those arrangements and get back to you as soon as I know. Alright, man, thanks for all your help. Yeah you take care too, later."

"Who was that and why were you talking about me?" I asked making it clear it had been obvious he was.

Avoiding my question he simply hung up the phone, stared at me for a minute then ordered, "Shut the door."

I did as he demanded and then walked over to the worn brown leather chair sitting in front of his desk. Despite being close with Emmett and Rose, he was still my boss and I knew I was probably in deep shit for returning like I had.

Leaning forward, resting his forearms on his desk, he looked at and me and asked, "What the hell, Bella? You weren't supposed to come back until I told you it was safe."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that Emmett. But when the bad guy finds me and decides to send his little gift to me at my grandmother's house half way across the world, what's the point?"

"Fuck," Emmett huffed. "I'm sorry, Bella. I really thought we'd be able to nail his ass and stop this shit quickly." He closed his eyes and massaged his temples while groaning in frustration.

"Were you able to come up with anything?" I inquired hoping he had found out something, anything that would give us a clue.

"No. Our forensics team went over every bit of evidence we had on him with a fine tooth comb," he said. Irritated by Reynolds' ability to keep us guessing, Emmett jumped up out of his chair, nearly knocking it over in his frustration. "Damn it," he growled. Pacing back and forth across his office floor on the well-worn path marked by his previous footsteps, he continued, "It all points to him working alone, which we know is impossible since he's locked away. Someone has to be delivering his messages to you, even if that's all they're doing. I won't let this rest until we get him and nail his ass to the wall." Stopping mid-stride, he pivoted until he was facing me. "I promise you, Bella, I am determined to make sure who ever it is, whether it be his mother, brother, or little ole grandma, they will go down as a full-fledged accomplice. I won't accept anything less."

Instead of saying anything more he walked back to his desk. Sitting down, he picked up a pen and dug in his desk drawer until he pulled out a piece of blank paper. He then proceeded to write something down and when finished he turned the paper around so that I could read it. The paper said: _Like I told you on the phone the other day,_ _there is good reason to believe that his accomplice could someone from this office. Be careful what you say and to whom you say it._

I was speechless and didn't know what to say. When he mentioned it the other day it hadn't really sunk in. To think that the person aiding this monster was right here under our noses was unfathomable. If he was right, and Emmett wasn't often wrong, then that could help explain how Reynolds was able to find me. If the accomplice was someone here, would that clear Edward? _No, it wouldn't,_ I thought as I remembered the fact if someone was leaking info out of this office they would have had to have stayed put here in Seattle. This case was getting more and more complex by the minute.

"You understand what I'm saying here?" he asked pointing to the paper.

"Yes," I answered as I watched him run the piece of paper through the shredder sitting next to his desk.

"So what do we do now?" I asked exasperated, wanting to know if he had formed any sort of game plan.

"We continue to search for the answers. He has to have an accomplice. Like I said, someone has to at least be mailing the apples for him," Emmett stated crossing his big muscular arms across his chest clearly deep in thought. "You said he sent them to you at your grandmother's house. Was there a note with them?"

"Yes and I'm certain the handwriting is the same."

"It has to be someone close to him or someone he can easily manipulate, and someone he can obviously send out of the country," he stated.

"Exactly what I was thinking. Have you officially reopened the investigation or have you been flying under the radar?"

"Under the radar. Why? What are you getting at?" he asked curiously.

"If we reopen it officially, can we question all of his friends, family members as well as anyone else we suspect?"

"I think we could. There's enough evidence to form a reasonable accusation that the accomplice is close to him. I think that would definitely be a place to start."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Nothing, I'll get the ball rolling on it right away," he said and then pausing to study me for a minute he asked, "You've got that look on your face, Swan. What's up?"

"Just a hunch I've got about someone. Can I fill you in after I've done some snooping and see if I come up with anything?" I knew I was being vague with Emmett on what I was going to do. However, it would let him know I was checking someone out, while allowing me the leeway of not giving him a name. By doing it this way, it enables me to keep Edward's name out of it if nothing turned up in my research, but still be able to conduct an official search into his background.

"Yeah that's fine; just make sure you keep me up to date on anything you find. We can't afford any mistakes in this case."

"Ok, I'll do that and I'm going pull the file on Reynolds to see what I can come up. See if there's anything else we may have missed or if anything jars my memory from my conversations with him. Maybe I can find mention of someone in particular he was extremely close to and would trust to help with his scheme," I told Emmett as I got up to leave his office.

I had almost reached the door when he asked, "Hey, Bella?"

"Yeah."

"Where's your grandmother?"

"She's with my parent's why?"

"I was just concerned about her safety."

"Me too. That's why I brought her home with me. I know she's safe with my dad."

"You're right. That's a great place for her right now. I'm sure your dad realizes the need to keep this under wraps right?"

"You know he does," I said rolling my eyes at him.

"Good."

My hand was on the door knob about to turn it when he got up and walked over to me. Pulling me into a big brother of a bear hug, he whispered, "It's good to have you back. I know the circumstances suck, but it's great to have you here."

"It's good to be here Em." And it was. Even if I found out everything I feared about Edward was true, I was home, back in my comfort zone and surrounded by the places and people I was familiar with and for the most part, the ones I could trust implicitly.

With that I left his office and stopped by the file room to grab Reynolds' file. Dropping the thick folder on my desk, I sat down and prepared to dig into Edward's background first. If Emmett believed the accomplice was an internal mole, then that gave me hope that maybe, just maybe Edward was who he said he was after all.

After thinking for a few minutes about where to start, I decided on his company. I hadn't gone inside the building so it could be a front for all I knew. Although I doubted he would have invited me in if that were the case. I opened a Google search box and typed in the name I had seen on the marquee sign on the front of building, _Cullen & WhitLOCK Security Inc._ I found their official company website along with a few links from other businesses that had used them and were recommending their services. The official site was full of basic information on the services they offered as well as a general history of the company. There was a small amount of background history on both Edward and his partner, which reminded me of his stint in the army.

Wavering back and forth on whether or not I should, I decided I had to know and made up my mind to see how far my FBI security clearance would get me. I put in my clearance ID code and was shocked but pleased when it got me into the US Army's database. It took me a few minutes to find where to enter his name to do a search on him. But when I did, I quickly typed it in and waited anxiously while the computer began the search. It wasn't long before I was looking at the entire history of Edward Anthony Cullen's army career.

It didn't take long to see that Edward had a very prestigious career for the short time he was in the Army Special Forces. He had enlisted right out of high school and had fulfilled his basic along with his special forces training at Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall in North Carolina. Edward had apparently completed his training in a record time of fifty-two weeks while most took at least fifty-six. He was considered among the elite of his unit and was a Special Forces Weapons Sergeant but also had the exemplary knowledge and capabilities to have been a communications skills specialist as well.

Reading further I found details about the types of missions he had been on. Most of them were counter terrorism, foreign affairs, and reconnaissance and warfare duties. Clicking on another link I found that he had scored in the top three if not the highest in all five phases of the Special Forces Qualification Courses and Special Forces Operations Courses.

The file went on listing his outstanding merits and abilities. He could speak four languages including Arabic, French, Spanish and Italian. The Italian suddenly stood out as I remembered him speaking to the valet and our waiter when we had gone to dinner. I clicked another link which gave me some personal information such as his birthdate, which was June 20, 1980, and his enlistment and discharge dates. It dawned on me that his birthday had just passed; in fact it was the day we went boating, the day we admitted our feelings for each other.

In addition to the fact he could speak Italian fluently, in the process of reading through the list of training phases he had completed I also learned he had taken several psychology classes and training courses. I could see where it would be essential to be able to keep your cool in extremely intense or dangerous situations. But the part of his psych training that stood out the most to me was how to foil your opponent and disguise your emotions. He had gone through just as much if not more psychological training than I had; his was geared in a different manner, towards putting up pretenses whereas mine was breaking them down. He had been trained to know how to lie without being caught. Suddenly the horrible sick feeling I had felt on the airplane was creeping back up on me to the point where I was almost wishing I hadn't been able to get into the army's system. Maybe I would have been better off going straight to Emmett with my suspicions and letting him run the check on Edward.

The more I read about Edward's military career, I could see that everything about it was as he said it was. But the fact that he could speak Italian and his extensive psych training still stood out. It was as if he had been sought after specifically for the purpose of fooling me. Like someone knew he'd be the perfect person to dupe me, and James Reynolds would know that.

Skimming through the rest of the information on the page, watching for something that would stand out, I noticed a link that said _for more detailed information click here_. Of course, wanting to know as much about this man as I could I clicked on it. However the next message to pop up was one that stunned me.

It said:

Classified information. Top Security clearance needed. No change in information since last background check.

Then in tiny print below it was the following:

Last date checked was May 22, 2010.

My immediate thought was, _what the hell was the FBI doing investigating Edward. _

I knew I shouldn't be digging into the information that I was, but the fact that someone else in the bureau already had, set off all kinds of warning signs in my head. I instantly wondered if he had been suspected of being Reynolds accomplice and they were digging into his past to try and find a link. And it didn't go unnoticed that the date of this so called investigation was right after I'd left for Italy.

Immediately logging out of the system, I closed my laptop and got up to go see Emmett. Something was not adding up and I had a feeling Emmett knew a lot more than what he was telling me.

When I got to Emmett's office I found the door closed and locked. That told me that he was gone for the day. Thinking it was still a bit early for him to be leaving, I walked over to Tyler's desk.

"Hey, Ty, you know where McCarty went?"

"Oh shit, Bella, when the hell did you get back?" he asked

"This afternoon. Look I really need to see McCarty do you know where he is?" I wasn't trying to be rude to him, I just really had to find out if Emmett was the one who ran the check on Edward and if so why. And if it wasn't Emmett then who and for what reason.

"He left about an hour ago. Said something about if he wasn't on time for dinner with her parents, the wife was going to have his head on a silver platter." Tyler then chuckled and made some comment about how he was never getting married. That no woman was ever gonna tie his ass down and tell him what to do.

"He left for dinner already?"

"Yeah, hon, it's past five already."

I glanced up at the clock and saw that it indeed was. I hadn't realized how the time had flown by while I was searching for info about Edward.

Thanking Tyler for his help, I made my way back to my office. I didn't want to go home yet. I was afraid that if I did, I would sit around tearing myself up over my involvement with Edward.

Looking at Reynolds file as it set on my desk, I figured I was here, had nothing better to do, so I might as well dig in and see what I could find. Hungry I ordered some Chinese food to be delivered and flipped open the file and began scanning the information. Two hours later, I was about to give up when I came across a list of known relatives and assets. It appeared to have been compiled by Reynolds' attorney in the event he was given the death penalty, which he was. What struck me as odd though was that it was a photo copy and someone had made notations next to each relative, listing the division of his assets when the time arrived for him to be executed.

The other thing that caught my attention was that Reynolds was a wealthy man. He had the means to get all the help he needed, and could certainly afford to bribe someone into being his accomplice. How he had come about his money I wasn't sure, but I he had left most of it to his brother, with smaller amounts going to the other members of his family. Having more than enough money also meant that he could easy afford to send someone to Italy to deliver the apples and stay for as long as he needed them to. But if Reynolds had indeed hired Edward to help him, why would he have someone stay in Italy for so long? Why didn't he just have them move in quickly, deliver the apples and then get the hell out of dodge?

My head had begun to hurt from staring at the computer screen so long so seeing it was now past eight at night, I was ready to call it a day. I sent myself a memo to follow up on Reynolds' brother and do some digging to see if I could uncover how he had become so wealthy. The other thing I wanted to check on was the visitation log at the prison. Everyone coming and going in the area where Reynolds was incarcerated, was required to sign in and out, as well as who they were there to see and why.

I scribbled down a couple of the names from the list of family members in the advent I was unable to sleep and stuffed it into my laptop bag. After shutting down my laptop, I gathered the rest of my things. Glancing briefly at the roses, I chose to leave them here. I didn't need any reminders at home to torment any more than the memories I had already were. Then making a mental note to get here early in the morning so that maybe I could talk to Emmett before anyone else was here, I left.

**So what do ya think about Bella's information search on Edward? Let me know. Don't forget a new teaser will be posted by Monday moring for chapter 7 on my blog. Link is on my profile page. Thanks for reading, you guys are the best!**

**EA~  
**


	7. Secrets

**Happy Friday everyone! My undying gratitude goes out to MyBella and Hope4more. Their help is priceless to me. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all, I just want to have a little fun with her characters.  
**

**Most all of you were wanting to here Edward's side of things so here he is. **

_Tell me what you want to hear  
Something that'll like those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away  
This time  
Don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics never jump in line  
I'm Gonna give all my secrets away_

_**Secrets by One Republic**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**June 23, 2010 **_

Watching Bella drive off yesterday sucked. There was just no other way to explain it. I hated it and I hated that it left me feeling empty and alone. Incomplete, like part of me was missing. I hadn't been able to sleep at all once I got home last night. I tried twice to talk her into letting me go to Forks with her, but I had failed both times. Part of me understood why she didn't want me to go along. Trust me the last thing I wanted was to be met at the door by her gun toting father. However I was also worried about her safety as well as I just wanted to be with her. There was also a big part of me that sensed something was very wrong. I had been trained to trust my gut instincts and for the second time since meeting with Emmett a few weeks ago, they were screaming at me that something was about to happen.

What worried me even more was Bella not returning my phone calls. She had texted me last night to let me know she had made it to Forks but it was so unlike her to text and not call me. I could only remember a time or two that she had done so in the entire time we had been together. And now that she wasn't answering at all, it was really bothering me. Something wasn't right and I could feel it. In fact I felt a shift between us after she had gotten sick on the plane, like she was pulling away from me. That feeling intensified when she wouldn't kiss me goodbye last night. It also hurt. I hadn't been remotely prepared at all for how it would rip me apart to feel rebuffed by her.

Certain I was right about there being more going on than what Bella was telling me, I decided if I hadn't heard from her by this afternoon I was going to call Emmett. I needed to anyway. He needed to know I was back in the country and that Jasper needed to have arrangements made for him to return since he would be bringing all of our equipment back with him. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Bella or her grandmother catching him when he went in to remove the bugs I had placed in the house.

Not being able to get my mind off of Bella here at home, I opted to head over to work and check up on how things had gone while I was away. As I got into my car I was momentarily distracted. It felt good to be behind the wheel of my baby again. Yes my car was my baby and I loved driving it. I had purchased the 2007 Shelby Cobra Mustang GT500 as a college graduation present for myself. I sometimes wished I had a longer drive to work so I could get on the highway and open up the engine and drive it like it was supposed to be. Now was one of those times.

Mike and Paul were at the warehouse when I arrived. There weren't any appointments scheduled for today so I gave them both the day off since they had been taking care of everything while Jasper and I were gone.

Climbing the stairs to my office, I sat down at my desk. Thinking maybe Bella was busy filling Emmett in on her being found in Italy and that's why I hadn't heard from her, I decided to send her some roses and let her know I was thinking about her. I looked up the address to the federal building where I knew the bureau's offices were located and then called the florist and placed the order. I chose red roses this time. I wanted her to know just how much she meant to me.

I then tried to keep myself preoccupied with paperwork that needed to be done as well as checking my schedule to see if there was anything coming up soon. I had only cleared it for a month and had been gone about that amount of time so I wanted to be sure there wasn't anything I immediately had to take care of. Paul and Mike had been instructed to cover what they could and reschedule the rest if Jasper and I were gone longer than that. I sighed in frustration. I wanted to go back to Sunday. I wanted to be holding her in my arms again. Feel her soft skin pressed against mine. Her lips soft and warm against mine and to know that she was safe. I hadn't told Bella but Sunday had been my birthday. The best one I'd ever had.

A while later I was surprised with a visit from my sister Alice. She had brought me lunch and wanted to know when Jasper would be back. I explained as much as I could the circumstances surrounding my sudden departure without Jasper and that I was sure it would be no longer than a couple of days at the most.

"So when I talked to Jasper this morning, he told me you hooked up with this girl you were protecting," Alice stated like it was an everyday occurrence, but I knew she was just fishing for more information than what her fiancé had given her.

I groaned while silently cursing Jasper for not keeping his mouth shut. Leaning back in my chair and running my hands through my hair not really wanting to discuss Bella with my busy body sister, I tried to ignore what she had said. I knew anything I said to her would be finding its way to my mother before the afternoon was over. In fact I had no doubt that she'd go straight to their house when she left here.

Knowing she'd never give up I relented and gave her enough to hold her until after I had seen Bella and talked about a few things with her. Our discussion ended with her encouraging me to invite Bella to be my date for her wedding, and reminding me that it was only a few weeks away.

Shortly after Alice left I decided it was time to call Emmett. It was mid-afternoon and I still had not heard from Bella. Yesterday she had said she would be heading back to Seattle first thing this morning and I expected to have heard from her before now. But because I hadn't, I felt like I had waited long enough.

Calling him I waited for him to answer.

"McCarty," he answered as usual.

"Emmett, this is Edward Cullen."

"Edward, what's going on? Is everything ok? There's no sign of trouble over there I hope," he replied anxiously.

"I guess you don't know then. That means you haven't heard from her either."

"What the fuck are you talking about, Cullen?"

"I thought you'd already be aware of this, but your agent is back in Seattle."

"What the hell do you mean she's back in Seattle? How the fuck did that happen?" he asked angrily.

Not wanting to disclose my and Bella's relationship without coming clean to her first about why I was in Italy, I lied to Emmett. "What I gathered through our surveillance and listening equipment, something happened to spook her. She was under the impression that she had been found, due to some sort of package she had received. So she left quickly with her grandmother in tow. Not wanting to let her go unprotected, I threw together a bag real quick and followed her." It wasn't really a lie; it just wasn't the complete truth. Something I seemed to be doing more of recently…telling half truths.

"When was this?"

"Well we actually left Italy on Monday, but with the length of the flight we arrived back in Seattle yesterday morning," I explained and waited for his reaction.

"And you don't know where she is now?" he asked me.

"Yeah about that. I followed her to a small town called Forks, but I haven't seen her since she arrived there yesterday." I hoped he didn't start asking too many questions or else I might be forced to tell him the whole truth.

"She must have gone to her parent's house," he stated.

"She did appear to know who lived there, so I would assume you are right. Look the other reason I called is, Jasper needs to be brought home. I had to leave so quickly to follow your agent that I had to leave him and all our equipment behind."

"No problem, I'll arrange it for later today or first thing tomorrow and I will let you know so he can be ready."

"Sounds great. So look do you want me to do anything else?" I asked. I would use anything I could at this point to make sure Bella was safe.

He paused for a moment as if he were thinking about it. But then he suddenly said, "I have to get back to you on that. I need to go; she just walked into my office."

"She's there?" I asked very relieved to know she was safe.

"Yeah she is. I'll let ya know about those arrangements and get back to you as soon as I know."

"Ok, sounds good, take care." What I really wanted to say is: _Take care of her. Don't let her get hurt or you'll have to answer to me._

"Alright, man, thanks for all your help. You take care too, later." He then hung up. At least I knew she had made it back to Seattle safely. But that piece of knowledge did very little to calm my apprehension over what I had to tell Bella.

Unfortunately, all I could do now was wait. Wait and hope she'd return my calls soon. If not I wasn't beyond paying her a visit at work. I didn't really want to have to back her into a corner like that, but I had to know what was going on with her. Maybe she had changed her mind about wanting to continue seeing me. It also occurred to me that even if she did still want to be with me, that Emmett might spill the beans on why I was in Italy. But an even bigger question than that was, if he did tell her that he had hired someone to watch over her, would he give her my name? Of course I then realized what an idiot I was for thinking it mattered. If I intended to have a relationship with Bella, there was the possibility that my name could come up in general conversation. I remembered well how all of us guys in the Army would talk about our friends, family, and loved ones when we had down time and Emmett had told me that Bella was more than just one of his agents; he loved her like a sister. There was no way to hide it from her. I again realized how right Jasper had been about telling her before it was too late. I had to make sure I told her before Emmett did. I wouldn't be able to sit back and wait much longer. I needed to talk to her, tell her and then deal with whatever the repercussions were, even if I didn't like them.

The day wore on and I still hadn't heard from Bella. I had finished what I needed to do here at the office and not wanting to be here any longer I decided to go for a run. I went out to my car and grabbed the gym bag that I kept in it just for times like this, and came back inside to change.

After locking the building up I climbed into my car and drove to the park. A few minutes into the run, I realized how much I had missed it. I had been able to run sporadically while in Italy, but not every day like I was used to. A certain brown eyed beauty had quickly monopolized most of my time in a way I had never imagined.

My thoughts began to drift over the time I had spent with Bella. I remembered seeing her that first night, her skin glowing in the setting sun's last rays and her hair blowing in the breeze. She was gorgeous then just as she was now. I continued to pour over the memories: Our first date when we went to dinner, all the times we went swimming, the places we went and the things we saw. One of my favorites was the day her eyes nearly popped out of her pretty little head when she saw my tattoo the first time. My life had been changed over the course of the past month I had spent with her. I didn't want to entertain the idea that it might be over now. "Fuck!" I screamed out loud, forgetting where I was as I stopped and bent over to catch my breath. "Why hasn't she called?" I said to myself.

My feet pounded the pavement as I ran back to the car. The memories were still flowing, playing out like a highlight reel on ESPN. My brain focused on the images of our last night together… Our bodies tangled around each other as we made love and waking up with her in my arms. The way her hair flowed behind her across the white pillow like a river of molten chocolate and the amazing smile that she had on her face as I wrapped myself around her and held her when we first woke up.

While wishing I could go back and relive those moments, I also recalled the phone call I had had with Emmett that day. I had gotten pissed at him, getting the distinct impression that he was hiding something from me. Mulling over the rest of our conversation, it hit me, the name he had let slip, James Reynolds. With this new piece of information I had, I picked up my pace, eager to get back to the car. I was determined to do a little research of my own. Surely a case as big as the one surrounding James Reynolds had been in the papers and the other news media outlets.

Nearly two hours later, I was home, showered and found myself sitting at my kitchen table with my laptop, a bottle of beer, and a sausage and mushroom pizza.

Opening up the search engine, I typed in his name and a page filled with link after link for information on James Reynolds loaded. Clicking on the first link I began to read about what a monster this man was. Time went by and after reading through several websites I found a lot of general information about the crimes he had committed. How he had been convicted of seven murders, had been found guilty of raping most of them and was suspected in a few others but had yet to be confirmed as a prime suspect in the rest of the cases. Site after site just gave me more of the same. There wasn't a lot of information regarding the victims and I guessed that was to protect their families' privacy.

Instead of clicking on any link I could find, I started scanning through the small summaries that were given with the link. Looking for something that stood out, after going through a whole page I finally found one that appeared to have info about his victims. It was a newspaper article from the home town of one of the women. It gave her name and some other personal info; it also had a picture of her. There was something about the picture that was eerily familiar but I couldn't place why.

Deciding to change my search tactics, I entered victims of James Reynolds, instead of just his name. I went through a few of them and noticed that they all looked similar in appearance. I brushed it off as him having a certain taste in women. But then I stumbled onto a link that called this victim his first. They were labeling her as the one who started it all. What I saw scared me like nothing had since I'd been out of the Army. I thought my eyes were betraying me. I rubbed them several times, but what I saw remained the same. I quickly copied and pasted all the links where I had gotten info on the victims onto an email to save them so I could print the info tomorrow. It was too late now, but this was something I had to go to Emmett with. I could only hope that maybe he didn't know. If he did, I was going to be even more pissed than before and if he didn't well…he needed to. It could be crucial to figuring some things out about the psychopath known as James Reynolds.

_**June 24, 2010**_

The next morning my ass was dragging after enduring two nights of no sleep. If dreaming about Bella wasn't enough to keep me awake, the fact that I had woken up several times rolling over and reaching for her only to find empty space did the trick. I had given up at some point and went out on to the couch and watched TV until my eyes couldn't stay open any longer. I had no clue what time that had been. Judging by the kink now residing in my lower back, the couch had not been a good idea.

After starting the coffee machine, I dragged myself to the shower and when finished I got dressed. I skimmed through the morning paper while drinking an extra cup of coffee and eating a bagel. I read through most of the sports page, trying to focus on something positive. I was surprised to see that while I had been out of town the Mariners had gone on a winning streak and were now only two games out of first place. Maybe they had a shot at the playoffs this year.

Downing the last gulp of coffee, I got up, set the cup in the sink and left to head to the office. Once there, I tried calling Bella again.

Again I got her voice mail. So again, I left another message. "Bella, please call me, text me—anything. Just let me know somehow that you are ok. I'm going crazy here worrying about you. And Bella…more than anything, I just miss you."

I really did. After seeing her every day for the last month and then spending the night with her a few nights ago…it was hard to be away from her now and not even know if she was ok or if she ever wanted to see me again. For all I knew Emmett could have already told her about me.

The office phone rang and from that moment on I was busy with work. Scheduling appointments and working out who would handle which ones with Mike and Paul. It felt good to get back into work. It was a welcome distraction to pass the time. However, just before noon I got the phone call that brought my mind quickly back to Bella.

"Cullen and Whitlock," I answered the phone.

"Edward, this is Emmett McCarty. I got the info you need about getting your partner home."

"Ok, fill me in and I'll pass it on to him," I replied, grabbing a pen and piece of paper so I could write down the info.

He gave me all the details surrounding Jasper's flight home and thanked me, saying he'd be in touch to arrange payment for the work we had done. Now being involved with Bella, I knew I couldn't take payment for what we had done. If Jasper had a problem with that, which I didn't think he would, I'd pay him with my own money or let Emmett give him his share. But I didn't want a fucking penny for it. Protecting Bella was something that had felt as natural as breathing. It had been instinctual even before I had seen her that night on the beach. When Emmett had come to see me that day, I just knew it was something I had to do. I couldn't have told anyone why. At the time I hadn't understood it myself. I wasn't one of those people who normally bought into the whole it was meant to be or fate sort of thing. But now…I didn't see any other explanation for why or how I had met Bella. Even if our time together was over and meant to be short lived, I wouldn't trade away one minute of it.

"About that payment…I can't accept anything for the job, Emmett."

"What do you mean you can't accept anything?" he asked. "That's fucking absurd man."

"Look I don't want to get into why right now. I also have something else I wanted to talk to you about. Can we meet somewhere later?" I asked hoping he'd tell me to come by his office, wanting an opportunity to see Bella.

"My plate is pretty full today. Can you come by here or can it wait until tomorrow?"

I couldn't help the small fist pump I did knowing he had done exactly as I wanted him too. "I'd prefer not to let it wait, so if it's cool I can just swing by your office when I leave here for the day, probably around four or so."

"That sounds great. Hey, man, I don't mean to cut ya short, but I got a call on another line. I gotta run, I'll talk to ya later."

"Ok later."

Ending the call, I called Alice and let her know when to expect Jasper home. Then I headed downstairs to see what Paul and Mike were doing for lunch. They were heading to McAllister's, a local pub to grab a burger and I accepted their offer to join them. However, no sooner than I had sat down behind the wheel of my car, my cellphone rang.

"Hello, Alice, what can I do for my favorite sister today?" I answered in a teasing sarcastic way.

"I'm your only sister, Edward," she huffed, trying to sound annoyed, but I knew she was most likely smiling.

"That's why you're the favorite," I teased. "Did you get the message I left you?" I asked figuring she was calling to find out if I knew when Jasper would be home.

"Yes I did. Are you going to pick him up from the airport or should I?" she asked. I honestly hadn't thought about it with everything else I had on my mind.

"How about you drive me there and I'll get our equipment from him and drive the truck back here to the warehouse and you can take him home?"

"Oh is the truck at the airport?"

"Yeah, we drove it there when we left, but Jazz has the keys. I left Italy rather quickly with Bella and I didn't think to get the keys from him," I explained then mouthing to Paul and Mike to go ahead and I'd meet them there. They signaled they understood, giving me a thumbs up sign and left.

"That sounds good. I've missed him so much," she whined into the phone.

"I know you have. Just think in a few weeks you'll be married and off on your honeymoon somewhere," I reminded her hoping to cheer her up a bit.

"Yes I know. I'm counting the days. Speaking of the wedding, my dear brother, don't forget as Best Man you have to give a speech. Have you invited Bella yet and Mom wants to know if she will get to meet her before then?"

"I knew you'd run and tell Mom about Bella. Did you even go home first yesterday Ali? Or did you just go straight to Mom and Dad's house?"

"Um… neither. I called Mom as soon as I was in the car," she proudly admitted.

"Alice," I sighed.

"What? Come on, Edward. It's been forever since you've had a girlfriend, much less a date. That is what Bella is right? She's your girlfriend? Jasper said she was."

"Jasper needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," I retorted, once again realizing I had no clue where things stood between Bella and me.

"Well is she?" she hounded.

"I don't know, Alice. A couple of days ago I would have said yes. But something has changed. Something may have happened to make Bella not want to be with me anymore and I haven't talked to her yet. So until I do, don't go getting all excited."

"I just want to see you happy, Edward. So do Mom and Dad. Jasper does too and he said that you were on cloud nine while you were in Italy. And I know you weren't crazy about the idea of Chelsea being my Matron of Honor because of your past history with her. But she's married now and moved on. I just thought that if you brought Bella with you, that the night would be more fun for you and less awkward."

"I appreciate that, Alice. But watching my baby sister and my best friend get married to the loves of their lives will be enough to make it a happy occasion for me," I told her and it was true, even if I wasn't looking forward to walking down the aisle with my most recent ex. I'd dated since Chelsea and I split, but they were just casual flings not lasting more than three maybe four dates. But for the last five or six months there hadn't even been that. No one caught my eye enough to even bother with the hassle of asking them out. That is until the night I bumped into Bella on the beach. I had been drawn to her from the moment I laid eyes on her.

"Aww you're so sweet, Edward. That must be why you're my favorite brother."

"Alice, I'm yo—"

Cutting me off she said, "I know. You're my only brother," causing us both to laugh.

"Look, I'd love to chat all afternoon," I said pinching the bridge of my nose, wanting this day to move a little faster than it was, "but I was about to have lunch with the guys and they have to get back soon for an alarm install. Plus I have an appointment this afternoon as well. Meet me at my place at six and we'll head to the airport."

"Sounds good, I'll see you then."

"Oh and Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell Mom as soon as I know if there is still a Bella and me, I will do my best to make sure she meets her."

"I will. She's with me now. We're headed to lunch too and then to finalize the remaining details for the wedding."

"Ok, tell Mom I love her and I'll see you later. Bye Alice."

"Bye."

By the time I got to McAllister's the guys had finished their lunch and were just catching a few minutes of the baseball game. I ordered my lunch to go and watched with them until my order was ready and then we all made our way back to the warehouse. The rest of the afternoon passed by a little faster than the morning had. After lunch I printed out the info I wanted to show to Emmett and went about my normal daily routine while here at work.

With about an hour left before I had to meet up with Emmett, I began having a hard time concentrating on work and after making several mistakes while attempting to balance the company checkbook, I gave up and found an online video game to play. I hadn't been playing long when my cellphone rang. Hoping that by some chance it might be Bella, I answered it quickly without even looking at the screen to see who it was.

"Hello."

"Hey Edward is that you?"

"Tommy what's up? How are things going down there at Fort Bragg?" I was pleasantly surprised to hear from him. We had gone through basic and special forces training together. Tommy had become a communications specialist and now worked in Army Intelligence.

"They're good, real good. In fact I am up for a promotion. If I get it, I'll be packing my bags for DC."

"That's great man. I always knew you were a lifer," I joked.

Tommy came from a long line of Army men. His father, grandfather and several before him had all been enlisted men and making a career of it. All of us in our unit knew Tommy would be no different. I had never thought I'd be in for life, only using the Army as a means to escape the path my parents had wanted me to take. Jasper had at one time thought he would make a career of it, following in his father's footsteps in the same way Tommy was, but a knee injury had ended that option for him.

"So what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call to?" I asked.

"Well how about you tell me what it is you've done that has the FBI all over your ass?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Someone from the FBI office there in Seattle has run an extensive background check on you," he explained.

Remembering that Emmett had done one on Jasper and I before we left for Italy, I told Tommy that I was aware. That I had done some security work for them and they had run one about a month ago. However I didn't expect what he said next.

"Yeah, there was one run then, but there was another done yesterday. I had a memo on my desk when I came in this morning. It had been flagged as a possible security leak. But after doing some checking I found the snooping into your background had really been done by the FBI. You sure it was some security work you did? You didn't go and screw over some big wig in the bureau's daughter, did you?" I couldn't be sure if he was serious or just messing with me from the tone in his voice, so I ignored his last remark.

"Yesterday? Are you sure?" I asked dumbfounded.

"Yes sir. I checked the log in the system myself."

"Does it say who? There must be some kind of security clearance to get into that shit right?"

"Yeah, there is an ID but it's not a name, it's just the person's security clearance password."

"And I take it, you can't give that to me without committing a major breach of security as well as privacy." I knew what the answer was before I even threw it out there. It was more like thinking out loud than it was actually making the statement to him.

"You'd be correct. So what do you want me to do?"

Not sure exactly what he meant I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Do you want me to launch an internal investigation into who was trying to dig up info on you? At least the second time anyways?"

"No. At least not yet. I have an appointment to tie up the remaining loose ends from the security work Jasper and I did for them. I'll ask about it myself."

"Sounds good, let me know if there's anything I can do. So, how is Jasper doing?"

"He's good, gonna marry my baby sister in a few weeks."

"No shit?"

"Nope. I kid you not."

"Well give him my congratulations. Did you give him the ole, I'll kick your ass if you hurt my sister spiel?"

"No, I think my dad did a good enough job of that," I chuckled.

Peeking at my watch I saw it was time to head out to meet with Emmett. So I said my goodbyes to Tommy and told him I'd be in touch soon. Then grabbing the envelope containing the info I had printed I grabbed my keys and made my way down the stairs taking them two at a time. Now having even more questions than before, I hoped I would leave Emmett's office with some answers as well as an intact relationship with Bella.

On my way out the door, Paul and Mike were just pulling up from finishing the alarm install they had been out on. I told them to lock up when they were done, that I didn't plan on being back the rest of the day.

When I got to the federal building, it took me forever to find a place to park my mustang. The spaces were so narrow that I had to look forever before I found two open spaces that I could park in the middle of. Yeah I was a bit OCD in not wanting it to get scratched or dinged.

After stopping at the information desk and getting my visitors pass, I got in the elevator and waited for it to take me to the floor where Emmett's office was located. Once I found the series of offices that comprised the FBI's Seattle location, I was disappointed when after looking around there was no sign of Bella anywhere to be found. Not even when Emmett came out and was leading me back to his office. I did see another hall that appeared to have more offices and I thought that perhaps hers was down there.

After closing the door, Emmett offered me a seat.

Not sure where to begin, I was grateful when he did it for me. "Let me first just say thank you for taking this job. I know it was a bit unheard of as well as it took a lot of time out of your life. Now whatever you said this morning about not wanting to be paid, I can't let you do that, man. I have to pay you. If you don't want it, give it to a charity or something, but I have to do it." He then pushed an envelope which I assumed had a check in it towards me.

"Well after I tell you a few things you might not feel so thrilled over the job I did. But first I have some information for you that you may or may not already be aware of."

"Sure shoot, whatcha got? Any lead we can get to break this case is more than welcome," he replied leaning back in his desk chair so far I was certain he would tip the damn thing over.

However, when I opened the envelope containing the photos I'd printed of James Reynolds' victims as well as his girlfriend and handed them to Emmett, he was upright in his chair faster than I thought possible.

"Where'd you get these?" he asked in a course tone that told me right away he had seen these or similar photos before. He knew.

"You might say that curiosity got the better of me. So I did some digging on the internet and that's where I found these as well as a plethora of information about James Reynolds. I'm guessing by your reaction you are aware of why these pictures are a bit of a shock. That you are fully aware your agent Bella Swan holds a remarkable resemblance to Reynolds' dead girlfriend and a more than a slight resemblance to his other victims." I wasn't going to play around with him. I got right to the point.

The fact Bella looked so much like Reynolds' victims told me a lot about why he was so consumed with her. What I was still confused about though was why he was harassing her. He was locked up and had no way to get to her. Sure he could send her shit in the mail, but it wasn't like he was ever going to be a free man again. So that part still perplexed me.

"Yes, I am completely aware of the similarities," Emmett stated bluntly, and then continued, "what I don't understand is why it matters to you? I hired you to do a job, you did it. Your partner will be home in less than a few hours, you've been paid. It shouldn't hold any interest to you anymore. So why does it?"

His seemingly cavalier attitude was starting to piss me off. "It interests me because Isabella Swan is no longer just a job to me."

"What do you mean she is no longer just a job to you?" he asked before quirking an eyebrow at me. He then got up and walked to the mini fridge located on the other side of his office. Grabbing a bottle of water for himself, he offered me one, which I politely declined. Twisting the cap off his drink and taking a huge swig of it, he moved back across the room stopping to stand at the window behind his desk with his back facing me.

Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves as well as my frustration, I explained to him how Bella and I had met on the beach and without going into any of the intimate details, how we had become involved. I also filled him in on the real reason why I came back with her and the other details surrounding our return.

"Is that why you didn't want to be paid for this job?" he asked.

"Yes. It doesn't feel right to be paid to protect someone I love." There, I'd said it, and it felt good to say it out loud. I really hated the fact that I had professed my feelings to someone else before I had gotten a chance to say it to Bella, but it was too late to take it back now.

"You love her?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes."

"Does she know, and have you told her you were working for me?"

"No on both. I only was sure of my feelings for her recently. And you had made it clear that if she knew she was more or less being babysat that she'd high tail it back here and demand to be a part of the investigation. You also made it clear at the time it wasn't safe for her to do so. So as much as I wanted to come clean with her I didn't. Have you told her?"

"No, I didn't see a need to. Obviously now that you have become involved with her, that changes things. You do know she is pretty big on honesty right?"

"Yes I do and I also know why. She told me about her gift, ability, whatever you want to call it. So yes I will tell her. But what I want to know now is how does she feel about her resemblance to these women?"

I was met with dead silence. He didn't move, flinch or even appear to be breathing. That old saying actions speak louder than words never rang more true to me before than it did right now.

"My god, Emmett, she doesn't know does she?" Again no response. "Answer me damn it. This is her life, her wellbeing that is on the line here. How could you send her in to psychoanalyze that bastard and not tell her?" I roared at him.

His head hung low and that was all I needed to confirm my theory.

"Why, Emmett? Why doesn't she know? Don't you think she deserves to know the truth?" I was furious now and had gotten up and was now standing next to him fighting the urge to hit him or anything I could get my hands on.

"Because I was ordered not to. There. Are you happy now?" he bellowed.

"You were ordered not to? By who?" I couldn't help but wonder what kind of fuckery it was not to tell your agent everything about the situation they were being put in.

"By the higher ups. I didn't like it any more than you do. If you remember correctly when I came to talk to you about taking this job, I told you that Bella was more than one of my agents. She is like family to me. The little sister that I never had. My wife and I both adore her. But I had no choice. I would have been putting my job on the line if I had. The big wigs wanted their answers. They wanted to convict this guy and they didn't see anything wrong with not telling her. So now that you have your answers I suggest you tell Bella soon about how you came to be in Italy. If you truly love her as you say you do, you will do it right away. Now if you will excuse me, I have work to do so if you don't mind I'd like you to go." He was cold and gruff. This was a side of Emmett McCarty I had never seen before. One I suspected he had to use often in his line of work.

I had turned and was about to leave when I remembered Tommy's phone call from earlier. "I have just one more question then I'll go," I told him from where I was standing next to his desk.

"What?"

"When you hired Jasper and I to do this job, you ran a background check on us correct?"

"Yes, why? I told you I would."

"Because I got a call from a friend who happens to be pretty deep in the Army intelligence department. He said that not only was a check run at the time you would have been doing one, but there was also one done yesterday. Can you explain that to me?"

"No I can't. It must be a mistake."

"No it's not. In fact it was flagged to be investigated as a security leak in the Army's database system. But he called me first to see if I had any clue what it was about."

"Well the only search of any kind that was conducted on you was the one I did. I don't have any knowledge of the other one being done."

"You mean to tell me you aren't aware of the information your agents are acquiring? Are they free to just run searches on any damn person they please? Oh and I was told it was conducted out of this office both times. I find it hard to believe you aren't more aware of that kind of thing." I was beginning to feel like he was lying to me again or at the very least purposefully holding back information.

"Look, Edward, I told you I have no idea why or who would be running another background check on you," Emmett growled.

"I do."

The sound of that voice hit me like a ton of bricks. I would know it anywhere. It was the one I had been longing to hear for more than two days now. Emmett and I both spun to find Bella standing there leaning against the door frame to his office. We had both been so wrapped up in our conversation that neither one of us had even heard her open the door. The look on her face told me that she knew more than she had a few days ago. Possibly things I wanted to be the one to tell her.

**Hope you liked it. I can't wait to hear what you thought. Thanks for reading, and as always there will be a teaser on my blog by Monday morning. Until next time, EA~**


	8. Everybody's Fool

**HI everyone, I hope you have all had a great week. We all need to give Hope4more a big thank you for making me write ahead before I starting posting this story. I've been sick all week so if I hadn't listened to her, chances are this chapter wouldn't be posting on time. We also need to thank her and My-Bella for all the help they continue to give me. This fic wouldn't be nearly as good without them. They make me think things through and work hard to write the best chapter I can. **

**Once again I must admit that Stephenie Meyer owns it all. I just gave Edward a hot red mustang to drive.  
**

_look here she comes now  
bow down and stare in wonder  
oh how we love you  
no flaws when you're pretending  
but now i know she_

_never was and never will be  
you don't know how you've betrayed me  
and somehow you've got everybody fooled_

_without the mask where will you hide?  
can't find yourself lost in your lie  
__**Everybody's Fool by Evanescence **_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**June 23, 2010 continued**_

"Look, Edward, I told you I have no idea why or who would be running another background check on you," Emmett growled.

"I do," I said entering the room, flinging the door shut behind me, not caring one bit how hard it slammed shut. They both froze in their spots and looked as if they had seen a ghost.

I smirked while staring at the both of them. They looked like they were three years old again and Santa Clause had just told them they'd been put on the naughty list.

"What? Cat got your tongues? Don't stop talking now just 'cause I'm here. I mean after all, I am the topic of your conversation. So why not clue me in? The two of you seem to be having one hell of a chit chat."

Maybe I was being a sarcastic bitch, but I was hurt and angry and unfortunately for Emmett and Edward, my sarcasm was a way for me to release some of that anger. Because of this, they were just going to have to deal with it.

Edward's hand went right to his hair, pulling on the ends. It was something I had seen him do a thousand times in the past few weeks. Seeing him I realized how much I had missed him over the last couple of days. I thought it had been hard avoiding his incessant phone calls, but seeing him...standing right here just a few feet away from me…it was so much harder. As much as I wanted to run to him and throw my arms around his neck and tell him that I had heard his declaration of love and that I loved him too, I couldn't. He lied to me and I couldn't just let that go. More than once, I had expressed to him how important being honest was to me. He knew because he was immune to my gift that I was counting on him to be completely truthful with me. I had been so worried about telling him of my ability, thinking he'd freak out and run away as fast as he could and when he didn't, I took it as a promise to always be honest. Now, I feel like he took advantage of the fact I couldn't use my ability on him, and used it to his own advantage.

Scratching the top of his head and letting out a sigh of resignation, Emmett was the first one to speak. "How long have you been listening? What have you heard?"

"Enough," I sneered.

"Enough? What the hell does that mean, Bella? Don't play games here?" Emmett snapped back at me.

"Games? You want to talk to me about fucking games? It seems to me that you've been playing one hell of a game, Emmett. Or maybe I should address you as Special Agent McCarty now. Boss, chief or perhaps sir would better suit you," I said walking over to him.

He opened his mouth, "Bel—,"

"Don't," I warned, holding up my hand up to stop his rant. "And it's now Agent Swan or just Swan to you. After all, being on a first name basis is something that friends share with someone that they trust. Someone they respect and look up to. Someone they don't fucking lie to."

I could see my words cut through him like a knife as I struggled to hold myself together. To not let either of them see how much they had hurt me. How this was killing me.

"Why?" I asked, glaring at Emmett, not understanding how the man I looked up to as a big brother and a mentor had kept these secrets from me.

"I had to do it for your protection," he claimed.

"My protection?" I asked repeating the word back to him.

"Yes. Shortly after you left I was driving by your house, checking on it like I told you I would. It was about a week after you had left. There was a package on your front porch. It was from _him, _apples again along with another note. It scared the hell out of me that he had found out where you live, Bella. And just so we're clear you can be as pissed off as you want. You needed the protection and I made sure you got it."

He turned and took a few steps to his desk. Pulling open the top drawer, he retrieved not one but two folded pieces of parchment paper. I recognized them right away. It was the same type of paper that all my notes from Reynolds had been written on. Handing me one, I opened it to read its message. _My Dearest Isabella, I know you've gone away. Why must you run?_

Taking a deep breath, and holding my hand out towards Emmett, he handed me the second one and said, "This one came last week. He sent it here to the office by itself. It was addressed to me.

I unfolded it and read the words written in the hauntingly familiar scrawl. _You can't hide her from me forever. I'm so very close to finding her. It won't be long now. _

"Dammit," I muttered. It took everything I had to not crumble and fall apart as I had in Capri when I read the note at Nana's house. But I refused to give either one of these men any excuse to see me as weak or needing their protection.

"Emmett?" Edward asked. I turned to face him for the first time since I first entered the room. The look he had on his face totally caught me off guard. I could tell something was weighing heavily on his mind.

"Yeah," Emmett answered.

"Who is going to be making sure she's safe now that she's back here in Seattle?" _What did he mean who was going to keep me safe? I could take care of myself._

"She's had an agent tailing her ever since I was aware she had returned. Why?"

My head snapped in Emmett's direction with this new information and the knowledge that he had again made a decision about my life and my safety without consulting me.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" Edward inquired. I was about to tell them both I didn't need to be tailed when Edward walked over to the two of us and stopped right next to me. I wanted so badly to reach out and touch him. The urge was so strong I had to fight to keep my hand in its place where it was fisted at my side.

"What's on your mind, Cullen? Spit it out," Emmett replied as he pulled out his chair and sat down.

"Stop me if I've got this wrong," he stated. Emmett nodded for him to continue. "You sent Bella out of the country to keep this maniac, Reynolds, from getting to her. When you realize you might have an internal leak and her private information had been compromised, you hire an outsider to protect her because you can't trust your own men to do it at the time. Then the bad guy finds her, she comes home and you assign one of the very men whom you couldn't trust before to protect her. Forgive me if I've missed something or forgotten some detail that would clue me in as to how someone you couldn't trust to protect her then, can be trusted to protect her now."

I could tell by the change in Edward's posture and the fact he was now clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides that he was about to lose the last little bit of patience he had left.

Emmett leaned forward resting his arms on his desk and dropping his head into his hands. Releasing a frustrated sigh, Emmett looked up at the both of us. First me and then Edward. "I didn't have any choice. I figured you'd want your life back after being gone a month. So I put the agent I thought I could trust the most on it. Why?"

"Because I'm telling you right now you have another option. I'll do it," he declared. My head snapped in his direction. Our eyes met and I could see that he was dead serious.

"No," I argued.

His eyes remained fixed on mine as he began to speak. "You might hate me now, but that doesn't change the way I feel about you. I can only hope that with time you'll see everything that was done, was done out of love. If not well… then that's something I'll have to live with for the rest of my life. But it doesn't change what's most important right now. And I'll be dammed if I let that madman or any of his goons get their hands on you. I care too much about you to risk letting someone who may or may not be a double agent take your life into their hands. So unless you can be one hundred percent certain that this agent is not your traitor, then from my standpoint, I'm the best option."

Edward then looked from me back to Emmett as he waited for his reaction. I saw Emmett's answer on his face before he even spoke the words.

"Great, just fucking great," I said as I flopped down in a chair. "I get to be babysat like a child for God knows how long. I am a trained FBI agent for Christ sakes; I can take care of myself."

"I'm sorry, Bella, I have to agree with Edward on this. He is in a better position to watch you than anyone else here is and he has the ability to keep you safe."

"What if I get shot at?" I asked trying to throw any monkey wrench I could into this asinine plan of theirs.

"I'm licensed to carry a gun and I have one," Edward stated.

"Yeah, I bet you do, Sergeant Weapons Specialist," I muttered, apparently a bit louder than I wanted to because as soon as the words were out of my mouth they were both staring at me.

"It was you?" Edward asked. There was no mistaking the look of disbelief and shock on his face or the sound of pain in his voice.

I simply nodded and threw the information I had collected up on Emmett's desk. "I was on my way to speak to Emmett about what I had found out about you. When I reached for the door knob, the door popped open and I recognized your voice right away. Shocked that you'd be here talking to Emmett, I couldn't help but listen."

"Why? Have I somehow given you a reason to doubt who I am?" he asked.

I spent the next several minutes briefly explaining to Emmett and Edward how and why I thought Edward was the accomplice. That Edward was the hunch I had told Emmett about yesterday. I was surprised but relieved when they both appeared to understand why I had jumped to the conclusions I had. Although he seemed to accept my explanation, I could see a mix of hurt and curiosity on Edward's face. It told me this subject was far from closed for the two of us, that we still had a lot to talk about.

The subject was quickly changed back to the details of my so called security detail. I didn't like it at all. And the longer the two of them sat there discussing my safety like I wasn't even in the room, the more pissed off I got. They went on deciding that I should stay at Edward's loft apartment since he had plenty of space as well as a top of the line security alarm system. It was also mentioned that it was in a secure building and had a doorman at both entrances. I was really getting furious.

"Hello, I'm right here you know," I huffed, getting up and pacing back and forth in the room. I was unable to just sit there any longer and listen to them talk about me like I wasn't there.

"I don't mean to exclude you, Bella. Do you have any suggestions, points you'd like to add?" Emmett asked.

As I continued to pace back from the desk to the large window across the office, I decided that yes, I did have something to add to this plan of theirs. "Yes, Special Agent McCarty, actually I do have something to add. But it's not a suggestion. It's a demand and one I won't back down from."

"Fine. What is it?" he asked in a tone of voice that was really grating on my nerves. He was talking to me like I was a petulant child.

"If I have to be subjected to this….this safety plan of yours," I said holding my hand out towards them and waving it back and forth to indicate I was talking about them, "then it will be done at my house."

I noticed Edward had a cocky grin on his face. Was he laughing at me? Did he find the fact that I was so pissed off entertaining? It only served to fuel my frustration.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, Bella, he knows where you live," was Emmett's response.

I stopped in my tracks and pivoted on the pad of my foot until I was facing them. "No. You've already made me feel like I'm everybody's fool with all the two of you have kept from me. If I have to endure this twenty-four hour a day babysitting, then I want to be allowed to endure it from the comfort of my own home. I won't agree to it any other way."

"You don't have to agree to it, Bella. As your superior and the commanding agent in charge of this case I can—"

"You can what? Force me? You wanna pull rank on me, McCarty, go ahead," I dared as I pulled my badge and ID from the clip on the waistband to my skirt. I threw them both on his desk as I said, "You pull rank on me and I'll quit. I understand the need for me to be kept safe. But what you both seem to keep forgetting is that I am a trained FBI Agent. I have gone through the same training as you have, Emmett. Yes you have a few years on me experience wise, but I am the one who has been inside that sick bastard's head. I know him better than you do. I need to be kept in the loop. You excluded me once, Emmett, it got us nowhere." With that I turned my back to them and stared out at the downtown Seattle skyline as I fought to get some sense of control over my anger before I did or said something that I couldn't take back.

I had no sooner begun to calm my breathing when I felt Edward behind me. I struggled to keep from throwing myself into his arms as I yearned for the safe and secure feeling I was sure I'd find there. I could see his hands hovering just inches over my arms. I could feel the energy flowing between us. It was like a current of static electricity that was binding us.

Refusing to give in, I folded my arms across my chest as if I was holding myself. He hesitantly settled his hands on my arms causing me to shiver. _Dammit. Why did I have to have such an uncontrollable response to him?_

He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "Bella, we both just want to keep you safe. No one wants to see you get hurt."

"It's a little too late for that," I mumbled just loud enough so only Edward could hear me.

He moved to wrap his arms around me. Pulling away, I turned to face him. "Don't. Don't touch me and don't try to charm me. You lost those privileges the moment you chose to lie to me. I am dead serious. It's my house or I will walk right now." I then brushed past him and walked back across the room, sitting down without giving him the opportunity to respond.

Edward returned to his seat as well and he and Emmett went on talking, at times including me and asking for my input.

I'd finally had enough when they once again tried to convince me to stay at Edward's house. They claimed that the fact Reynolds didn't know where he lived and the house's alarm system made it a better location. After telling them again that it was not negotiable, they relented.

Wanting to get away from them and have some time alone along with some room to breathe, I stood up and facing both of them I said, "When you two get done deciding the details of my babysitting, I'll be in my office."

Just as I reached the door and was about to open it, being hurt, pissed and so overwhelmed by my emotions, I lashed out at Edward. Without thinking of the ramifications I turned and blurted out, "Oh, McCarty, you better make sure you clarify whether or not fucking me is part of his job description."

"You fucking slept with her?" Emmett asked, obviously shocked by my outburst.

"I didn't fuck her," Edward said while staring at me with his piecing green eyes. I could tell that I had hurt him by accusing him of it being nothing more than a fuck, but at that moment I was so hurt that I couldn't find it in me to care.

"You didn't? Then what the hell would you call it? We had sex twice; if it wasn't a fuck then what was it?"

Edward got up and walked over to where I was standing. Lowering his voice in an attempt to keep the conversation between the two of us, he said, "Bella, you know that's not what it was and I don't think this is the place to have this conversation."

"What the hell, Edward, I hire you to protect her and you sleep with her?" Emmett called from his desk as he got up and made his way to where we were.

"Shut up," Edward and I yelled in unison.

"No, if there are going to be major issues between the two of you, this won't work. I can't have the two of you getting into some sort of lovers spat and running off leaving Bella unprotected."

"Emmett, you can hire the whole fucking Marine Corp for all I care. That's not going to stop me from being there too, whether she wants me to or not. I am too emotionally invested in making sure nothing happens to her. I am the only one that is emotionally invested enough besides possibly you to do whatever it takes to make sure she stays safe. So you can hire me or not, but I will be there if it means I have to camp out in her fucking front yard." The two of them were now glaring at each other like two Roman gladiators ready to spar.

Edward then reached out and grabbed my hand. I tried to pull it away but he wouldn't let go. "Bella, please just give me the chance to explain. I will tell you anything you want to know. I don't want to talk about this here, but you have to believe that my feelings for you are real. Everything I told you about me was real. You should know that now better than you did before. If you believe nothing else, then you have to know that I would lay my life on the line to keep you safe. Please. I am begging you to wait until we can be somewhere more private and hear me out. After that if you never want to see me again, once this mess is resolved and you're safe, I'll leave you alone and you'll never have to see me again."

Emmett and Edward both stood silent as they waited for my response. I hated it, but I knew there was a lot we had to discuss and even if I didn't want to admit it to them, I knew I would feel safer with Edward than I would with a complete stranger. Unable to voice the words, I did the only other thing I could do. I nodded in approval.

"Good," Emmett stated. He then said, "Now I think you need to go get some fresh air. I'll make sure you get filled in on anything we decide." I knew that was an order to go. I had a feeling Emmett was about to tear into Edward over our involvement.

Edward released my hand and I left the office. While closing the door, I paused briefly as I heard Emmett begin to chastise him, "Jesus, Cullen, you slept with her? Do you realize the implications that could arise if this turns sour for the two of you?"

"I never intended for us to become involved, Emmett, but we have and this is not just some fling. I love her. I know it might be hard to believe given I've barely known her a month, but I do. And even though she's hurt right now, I have to believe that eventually she'll forgive me. That she loves me too."

"You better hope so, 'cause if not, you'll be answering to a lot more than just me."

I quietly shut the door the rest of the way and headed towards my office. One thing I knew for certain though, Edward and I had a lot to talk about. However, just because I listened to what he had to say, didn't mean I was going to forgive his ass any time soon. He would have to earn that.

I started putting together work I could do from home. If I was going to have to be spending an endless amount of time with Edward I needed something to distract me. I set about grabbing some files and making myself some notes on what I needed to do. After about a half hour went by there was a knock on my office door. Calling for whoever it was to enter, the door opened and in walked Emmett.

"You busy?" he asked.

"Nope."

"Can we talk for a few minutes?"

"What's there left to say?" I asked. I knew I was being snotty and I was bordering on being unprofessional, but how did he expect me to act and to feel given everything I had just learned?

He sat down in the chair in front of my desk. "Look, Bella, I know this hasn't been easy on you. But you have to look at things from my perspective," he pleaded.

"I'm not sure I can. Maybe you should explain yourself better," I urged as I sat back in my chair and prepared to hear what he had to say.

"If you heard me telling Edward I was aware of your likeness to the victims, then you also heard me say I was following orders when I didn't tell you. Is that correct?"

"Yeah I did and honestly, Emmett, I get that. And if you were simply just my boss, I could accept that and move on. But the thing is…you're not. You and Rose are like family to me and I thought you felt the same way about me."

"We do. _I_ do, Bella."

"Then why didn't you tell me? And not just about my looking like those dead girls. But why didn't you tell me that you had sent someone to protect me?"

"I didn't tell you about sending Edward and his partner to protect you because I knew you'd be on the first plane back here. Just like you were as soon as the apples showed up in Italy."

"Are you saying that you'd rather I hadn't come back when I did?" I asked somewhat shocked.

"In all honesty, Bella, I don't know. You didn't give me the opportunity to evaluate the situation and make a decision. But probably not. At that point I probably would have brought you home. At the time I sent Edward, I wanted you to stay put where I thought you were safe. In hindsight, maybe that wasn't such a good idea. Maybe I should have just brought you back then and put someone on you for protection because now your grandmother has been uprooted from her home. By not telling you, I put her at risk too. But I made the best decision I could at the time based on the facts I had. So I won't apologize for that."

"I can accept that. But what about the other? You send me in there to see that madman and you didn't give me all the facts. Important facts that I deserved to know Emmett. I had a right to know. And as someone who professes to love me like a baby sister, I would have expected you to find a way to tell me. You act like I would have ratted you out for telling me. Do you realize how much it hurts me that you didn't trust me enough to tell me?"

"I realize I hurt you by not telling you. But let me ask you this. If I had told you, knowing that you had a striking resemblance to his dead girlfriend and a more than passing likeness to the other girls, could you have gone in there and done the job as well as you did?"

"Well to use your words, I don't know. I was never given the opportunity to make the choice. Yes it would have creeped me out as it does now. But it is what I was hired to do. It was my job and I'd like to think that I could put my own insecurities aside and do it. You trained me, Emmett. From the moment the bureau hired me, you have taught me everything I know. If you don't have faith in me to do my job then who will, and how am I supposed to? I've seen you bend the rules because the situation called for it many times. I've worked with you on I don't know how many cases. I just feel like you should have told me. That you would have wanted me to know so I could be as well prepared to deal with that man as possible."

"I'm sorry, Bella. You have valid points. To be honest I didn't know at first myself. By the time I did you were making progress with him and I was told that if I interfered in any way, my career would be over," he replied sympathetically.

"Go on. There has to be more than that," she urged.

"As you know you had been brought in near the end of the case. They weren't certain they had enough evidence to get a conviction. But of course a confession would be the one nail in Reynolds' coffin he couldn't talk himself out of. They knew he was smart enough to lie to and charm the jury to be able to put at least put a reasonable doubt in their heads. And that is all it would take for him to walk away a free man."

"Right I am aware of all that. I still don't see why they didn't think it was necessary for me to know I looked like his victims."

"Because they didn't believe it would help you in any way. In fact when I confronted them about it, they felt as though you wouldn't be able to remain focused on the task they gave you if you did know. They were worried that he'd see right through you and use it to his advantage to freak you out and keep you out of his head. By you going in there pretending to understand him under the guise of wanting to help him to and to save him they hoped that he'd trust you. So they gave you what they felt you needed to get the job done. Everything they had done had failed. You were their last hope and they were not going to let your appearance stand in the way once they learned what you were capable of. They knew of your track record. They knew about the other two confessions you had gotten."

"So how long had I been going to see him before you found out?" I asked as I continued to mull over everything he had just told me.

"About a month. And let me just tell you, Bella, if we had been a part of this case from the get go, I would have told you. Hell, I wouldn't have had to tell you because we would have been investigating it together and you would have already been aware of everything. But you know as well as I do that this case was dumped on us at the last minute when the state felt like they had no other alternative and they were determined to not let anything or anyone interfere."

"Have they been made aware that he is stalking me from prison?" I asked wondering if they'd even care.

"Yes they are. But they like me and even you thought that it was some sick attempt by him to rattle your cage and get you to come see him again. We all thought that once you didn't he'd lose interest and stop. I can't tell you how sorry I am about this whole mess, Bella. I hope you believe that if I knew then what I do now, I would have found a way to tell you. I hope you can forgive me."

"Eventually. Right now I need some time. I've got a lot to process."

He nodded and then asked, "So you and Cullen huh. Is what he said true?"

"Maybe, I don't know anymore. I have a shit ton of questions for him and even then I'm not sure."

"Do you love him?" he asked.

"I did. Or I loved who I thought he was. I don't know if I know the real him. Does that make sense?"

"Yes it does. But I can tell you this. I don't think he's lied to you."

I cocked a brow at him as if to say really.

"Ok, let me rephrase that. I don't think he has lied about his feelings for you. In fact I am fairly certain that he is in love with you, Bella. He's professed it more than once today and the man is willing to put his own life on the line to save yours. If he has lied to you about anything, it was related to why he was in Italy, not about how he felt about you. He's a good guy. I've known him for a long time. So just give him a chance to explain," he implored.

"You've known him for a while?" I asked my curiosity now piqued.

"Yeah, we went to high school together, played on the same baseball team. We lost contact for the most part after graduation, but we've caught up every now and then. That's why I hired him for the job. I knew I could trust him," he confessed before adding, "Just keep an open mind."

"I'll try."

"It's getting late. Edward is sitting down in my office. He has to go to the airport with his sister to pick up his partner and then go by his place and grab what he needs for at least the next few days. Do, you want me to follow you home and wait until he gets there, or do you want to follow him to his place so he can get what he needs and then tag along with him to the airport?"

Edward had told me a little bit about his loft and the great view he had from it while we were still in Italy, and from his description it was gorgeous. I had been excited to see it, but until I worked through some of my emotions and got some answers from him, it seemed wrong. Besides I wasn't ready to be alone with him yet. So my answer to Emmett was, "I'll wait at my house with you."

He nodded and he was off to relay the plans to Edward and that they'd wait for me to be ready to leave.

The three of us took the elevator down together. It might have been the most awkward elevator ride of my life if not for the encounter I had with Jacob Black right before I left for Italy. That reminded me I hadn't seen him yet since returning, which wasn't really a bad thing. Edward and I stole peeks at one another when we thought the other wasn't looking, the rest of the ride down. Problem was we both chose the same moment to sneak those peeks several times.

I should have known. The red Shelby Cobra was his. Figures the pretty boy would have a pretty car. I bet it made it real easy for him to pick up chicks. Pull up in the flashy car, flash that sexy crooked smile of his and they were probably falling at his feet. I wonder how much practice it had taken him before he had the routine down pat. I then thought it must have made little ole me sitting there on the beach seem like taking candy from a baby. However just as fast as those thoughts had entered my mind, they were gone. I knew it hadn't felt like Edward was just reciting practiced lines to me. It had felt real—just like his body beneath my hands. I could see his tattoo perfectly in my mind; see his green eyes sparkle when he laughed and feel his warm arms wrapped around me. I sighed in frustration as I wondered how I would ever resist the lure of being in his arms if I kept having those thoughts.

Once Emmett and I arrived at my house, he ordered Chinese carry out while I went to take a long shower. Before getting in the steaming water, I took two aspirin hoping they'd at least dull the pounding headache I'd developed in the last couple of hours. I had hoped the hot water would wash away some of the pain from the day's events, but it didn't. I couldn't stop thinking about Edward and the time we has spent together in Italy. I shuddered and slumped against the cold tiles as the toll of the last few days overwhelmed me. The tears flowed as remembered everything.

When I was finished, I slipped into my worn and favorite pair of jammies which consisted of my old college t-shirt and a pair of flannel pajama pants. It might be the end of June but the nights could still get quite chilly up here at night.

"You ok?" Emmett asked as I entered the living room.

"Yeah, why would you ask?"

"I heard you, Bella," he stated getting up and making his way to me. He took me in his arms and hugged me like any big brother would hold his little sister at a time like this. I was still mad at him for his part in everything, but I needed comfort from someone and he was my only option at this time.

After a few minutes and a few more tears, I pushed him away when I heard a knock at the door. A wave of relief swept through me when Emmett announced it was just the delivery guy. However that was quickly replaced with a wave of apprehension when I caught a glimpse of a red car pulling up as Emmett closed the door.

"Dammit, "I cursed as Emmett handed me the bag and I sat down on the couch and started taking the contents out. How the hell had he gotten here so fast?

When another knock on the door rang through the living room, Emmett asked, "You wanna get us something to drink and some silverware, or do you wanna open the door?"

"Drinks," I muttered as I hopped up and practically ran to the kitchen.

Not a lot was said as we ate. Emmett had commandeered the remote, so the two of them talked sports as they watched the Mariners and the Twins. Apparently, Edward had told his sister something important came up and she had gotten a ride to the airport from their father. So that explained why it hadn't taken him as long to get here as I thought it would. I had really been hoping for some time before I had to face him again. After we finished eating, Emmett watched the remainder of the current inning and then cited it was time for him to go home to his wife, leaving me alone with Edward for the first time in three days.

"Um, where should I put my stuff?" Edward asked.

"The guestroom."

"Ok, where is said guestroom?"

"Upstairs second door on the right. The door before it is the bathroom," I directed and then grabbed the leftovers and made my way to the kitchen.

Turning to go grab the rest of the food, I nearly ran straight into Edward. He was standing in the doorway leading to the kitchen.

I frowned, feeling awkward and not sure what to say to him. In fact I really didn't want to say anything to him yet.

"You need any help cleaning up?" he asked. Wanting to do anything to avoid him, even if it were just for a few minutes I told him he could grab the rest of the food from the living room. He nodded and left to go get it.

I felt his presence in the room before he said anything. "You just want these in the fridge?"

"Yep," I said as I finished washing the few dishes that were in the sink and wiped down the counter. I heard the refrigerator door close and then there was silence. Thinking that maybe he had left the room I glanced behind me only to see him leaning against the counter watching me.

"I know everything you found out today must still have you feeling somewhat shocked."

Glaring at him I replied, "I think I'm moving past that part."

"Oh. Well does that mean you'll talk to me and listen to what I have to say?"

"No. That means I moved on to the extremely pissed off part," I snapped at him.

"And just how long will that last?"

"As long as I want it too."

I darted out of the kitchen searching for the safety of my bedroom. However I wasn't even half way up the stairs and I could hear him coming after me and his legs being much longer than mine, it only took him a few strides to catch up. But I kept moving towards my bedroom despite his pleas for me to stop. As I grabbed for the doorknob, he grabbed me and spun me around to face him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me against his chest. I struggled for a few minutes and when I realized he wasn't going to let me go I just let my body go nearly limp with my arms hanging at my side.

"Bella, I am so sorry for hurting you. I had intended on telling you. Will you look at me please?" he begged. Tears were again streaming down my face and when I refused to look up at him he gently did it for me. _Dang it. I was tired of crying._

Edward's eyes glistened with his own unshed tears. They were dull, lifeless, full of pain and not the brilliant green I had remembered seeing. I could see that he was hurting too.

"I love you, Bella. I know that might be hard for you to believe right now, but I do. I would never say those words to you if they weren't true."

I was frozen and couldn't speak, but instead let out a long sigh. He must have taken it for a sign that I was giving in, 'cause the next thing I knew his lips were on mine and he was kissing me. Unable to fight how good it felt, I kissed him back, melting against him as if we were back on the beach on Capri. As his arms wrapped around me, for a brief second I imagined how easy it would be to give in and go on as if nothing had happened. But I couldn't, not yet and the instant his lips left mine and my head cleared from the Edward induced fog he had me in I managed to mutter, "I can't do this now. I'm not ready." Then I shoved away from him and fled to my room where I shut and locked the door.

"Dammit, Bella, I'm sorry," I heard him call after me. I stumbled to the bed, nearly tripping over my own feet, since my vision was so blurred from the tears that wouldn't stop pouring from my eyes. Throwing myself on the bed, I buried my face in the pillow, clutching it tightly and praying it would muffle the sounds of my heartbreak so Edward wouldn't hear.

I could imagine him busting through the door to comfort me if he heard my sobs. And with the state I was in right now, I'd never have the will to push him away. I didn't even try to fight back my emotions at this point. I hoped maybe if I just let it all out, I would be able to deal with everything better tomorrow. I wanted so badly to believe he had meant it when he said he loved me. It was all so confusing. My heart was telling me to give in, that I might never have a chance at a love like this again, but my head kept repeating the same question over and over again, _can you trust him_.

It wasn't long before I was too tired to think any more. I felt sleep taking over and I gave in to it. Tomorrow would be a new day and maybe with some rest, I'd have a new perspective on things as well.

**Ok, so for the last few weeks some of you have been quick to yell and scream at Bella. I know there are going to be those of you who think she should just be grateful he's not a bad guy and jump back into his arms. The poor girl has had to deal with a lot and needs some time to absorb it all and figure things out. Try to think of how you would feel having learned all that she has. **

**Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys. Look for chapter nine's teaser to be up on the blog by Monday. **

**Thanks for reading, **

**eternally addicted. **


	9. Come Back Down

**Hello once again. I hope this chapter finds you all well. I need to give a special hello to all my friends in the Peapod Brigade. They are all wonderful friends who try to bribe me each and every Thursday to update early. You guys are awesome! **

**Lots and Lots of thanks to My Bella and Hope4more. You guys rock! Stephenie Meyer owns it all.  
**

_When you come back down  
If you land on your feet  
I hope you find a way to make it back to me  
When you come around  
I'll be there for you  
Don't have to be alone with what you're going through_

_You're coming back down  
You say you feel lost can I help you find it  
When you come around  
From time to time we all are blinded  
You're coming back down  
You don't have to tell me what you're feeling  
I know what you're going through  
I won't be the one that lets go of you_

_**Come Back Down, by Lifehouse**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**June 24, 2010 **_

Morning came and I woke with a pounding headache. The bright sun shining in through my window did nothing to help make it any better. I pulled the covers over my head wishing I could go back to sleep and wake up, having found out this whole ordeal was a bad dream that had gone away. No such luck as I remembered crying myself to sleep, knowing it was probably why my head was now hurting and my sinuses were clogged. When my alarm started screaming and making my head hurt even worse, I smacked the off button a little too hard, which sent it crashing to the floor.

"Bella? You ok in there?" Edward called from the other side of my bedroom door.

"Ugh," I groaned, remembering that he was here in my house with me for God knows how long.

"Bella?" he called again sounding a bit more worried this time. "I know you're dealing with a lot of shit right now, but if you don't answer me, I'll come through this door to check on you

I got up and stomped across the floor and flung the door open. "Here I am, living, breathing, every inch of me perfectly unharmed," I quipped in the most sarcastic tone I could manage.

"Well good morning to you too, Sunshine," he said, flashing me that sexy as hell smile of his and giving me an equal dose of sarcasm.

I growled at him and flung the door shut in his face as I started to make my way towards my closet. Unfortunately for me, he had caught the door and held it open and took the opportunity to irritate me further. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to lock your door at night right now."

Spinning back around to face him I quipped, "Excuse me? Now you're going to tell me what I can and can't do in the privacy of my own home?"

"If I think it will help keep you safe then, yes, I will," he replied from where he still stood in the doorway.

I walked back over to him, "How does my door being locked or unlocked have anything to do with my being safe? After all if the door is locked no one can get in."

"Precisely my point," he huffed.

"Forgive me for not understanding."

He let out a frustrated sigh and then said, "If no one can get in here, that means _I_ can't get in here should I need to in the event an emergency should arise. And if that happens then _I_ can't protect you."

"Fine."

"Fine what?" he asked.

"It means _fine_."

"Fine you'll leave the door unlocked or fine you don't give a shit?"

"Fine, I'll leave it unlocked."

"Good," he retorted and smiled like he had just won some fucking carnival prize before turning to walk away.

"Gurrrrrr, you're infuriating," I yelled as I slammed the door shut.

An hour later, Edward insisted he drive me to work, and because his car was parked behind mine in the driveway and he refused to move his, I didn't have much choice. After arriving at my office, he followed me up to Emmett's where I marched straight in and proceeded to once again try and talk him out of this whole house arrest plan they had enforced upon me. It was then I was informed of all the details of what my so called security plan would include. I became even more upset when I had been informed I would _never_ be allowed to drive myself to and from work until this mess was settled. Edward was to take me and pick me up and If for any reason he was unable to, then Emmett get the pleasure of escorting the FBI's newest inmate— 'cause that's certainly what I felt like now. It was worse than when I was sixteen and had been busted skipping school and got escorted back and forth by Charlie in his police cruiser. I remembered thinking it was ridiculous then, when they could have simply phoned the school to make sure I was there, just as I thought having to be driven to and from everywhere I went was ridiculous now.

I offered to notify them of when and where I'd be at all times, and suggested they put a GPS device on my car; they laughed at that one. When I had tried pointing out to them they wouldn't feel any differently than I did if they were in my shoes, they tried to make me believe that they wouldn't be fighting it like I was, that they'd be grateful for the protection. I told them gratefulness had nothing to do with it. Even ranting to them about how they were making me feel like a prisoner in my own home and in my own life got me nowhere. It was utterly infuriating that they refused to budge at all. It was their way and nothing else mattered. Stubborn fucking jackasses is what they were. At one point I got so frustrated, I told them they may as well put me in a solitary confinement cell right next to Reynolds. You should have seen the anger flash across Edward's face at that one. He even growled that there was no fucking way I was getting anywhere near that lunatic. No matter what excuse I gave, or what my complaints were, they fell on deaf ears.

As I was leaving Emmett's office to go to my own, I walked over to Edward and poked him in the chest as I said each word, telling him if he thought living with me was going to be a cakewalk he was sadly mistaken, I then turned and left.

So for the rest of that day and the next I avoided them both as much as I could. Edward was easy enough to avoid since I was left in Emmett's care while Edward left to take care of his business. Emmett was a little more difficult, but I kept our conversations related to work only talking to him when it was absolutely necessary. I used the excuse I was busy and had work to do when he would try to lure me into chatting with him.

By the time Friday night came, I was extremely exhausted. I had spoken with my father and Nana both earlier in the evening and they had both been quick to point out that I was wasting energy being mad at Emmett and Edward that could be used to try and figure out who the accomplice was so I could have my life back. Nana had also made me promise her to talk to Edward and keep an open mind when I did.

Lying in bed that night I resigned myself to not fighting the situation any longer and do whatever I could to help end this mess. Once I had calmed down and really thought about the situation we were all in, I realized my father and Nana were right. I didn't like the idea of being watched over and looked after constantly, but given the fact that Reynolds had discovered where I lived, it was probably a good idea for me to not be alone. And then there was the fact that, as much as I tried to deny it, if I had to be cooped up with someone twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, I could do a lot worse than Edward.

_**June 26, 2010**_

Stepping out of the shower I heard loud banging and clanging sounds coming from somewhere in my house. Not knowing what the hell was going on, I dried off and quickly got dressed to see where the sounds where coming from. Before I left my room I got my handgun from my nightstand drawer. Making my way into the living room, I saw a blond haired guy by the front door installing what appeared to be an electronic keypad.

"Stop what you're doing and turn around slowly," I said holding my gun with both hands in front of me ready to shoot.

Blondie turned around and was stunned to see me standing there with a gun pointed at him. "Whoa there, pretty lady. No need to pull a gun on me."

"Who the hell are you and why are you in my house? And where's Edward?" I asked him still holding my gun at him.

"Mike Newton's the name and I work for Cullen. If you had taken a minute to look before you went all Bonnie and Clyde on me, you'd see that I am helping to install an alarm system on your house. Now will you please put the gun away?" Despite his attempt to sound all calm, cool and collected, the unease in his voice gave him away. Not to mention the wave of nervous energy rolling off him. Poor thing had no clue I could see right through his weak façade; he was about to shit his pants. He was also extremely fortunate I could tell he wasn't lying. Otherwise, if he had been, he'd be nursing a gunshot wound and begging me to call 9-1-1 for him.

"Where is Edward?" I asked lowering my gun but not putting it down.

"He's outside, but I'd be more than happy to help you with anything you might need," he offered and started to move towards me.

"Not so fast, Casanova. The only thing you need to do is go outside and get Edward," I said pointing to the door with the hand that was holding my gun.

"Your loss," he said, smirking at me as he went out the front door. _What the hell was wrong with some men? So worried about using the head in their pants that they forget they have one sitting on their shoulders that should be used first._

I reset the safety on my gun and plopped down on the couch with a loud groan. I thought about how the past two days had gone by in a fairly robotic fashion. Edward and I had done what we had to, to avoid each other as much as possible. In reality I guess I was the one doing most of the avoiding, but it didn't stop me from feeling his eyes on me almost constantly. There had been a few times I had taken a chance to sneak a peek at him, but every time I thought it had been safe to do so I was met with green eyes full of pain and frustration. I really didn't want to see him hurting, but I simply wasn't ready to dig into the conversation I knew was looming ahead of us. I also knew I couldn't put it off much longer.

The door swung open and Edward walked in followed by Mike.

"Bella, is everything ok? Mike said you pulled your gun on him," Edward asked.

"You wanna tell me what the hell is going on?" I asked annoyed that he would just bring a complete stranger into my house without telling me. I was beginning to feel as though I had no control left over anything in my life.

"You wanna tell me why the hell you pulled a gun on my employee?"

"Because I was getting out of the shower and I heard all kinds of noises that sounded like someone was breaking into the house. I had no clue what they hell was going on. So I came to see what was going on and I sure as shit wasn't going to do it without protection. Now, wanna tell me what's going on?"

"I'm installing a state of the art, top of the line security system in your house," he stated nonchalantly like I should know already.

"Don't you think you could have told me? It would have been nice to know I would wake up to a total stranger in my house," I said. Edward started to say something, but I held my hand up for him to stop because I wasn't done. "Just who gave you permission to put the alarm system in? Last time I checked this was still my house," I retorted as I got up and put my gun in the end table drawer. I had another one in the car that I would bring in later and put in my bedroom, since it didn't appear I'd be driving my car for a while.

When Edward asked Mike to go outside and get started on the motion sensing lights, I thought we were in for round twenty five of this knock down drag out fight we had been having the past few days. However he surprised me. Sitting down and running his hands through his hair a few times, he let out a long sigh and said, "You're right. It is your house and I should have asked you first. I'm sorry."

I could see that he was completely sincere. "Ok, apology accepted. I was just freaked out to find someone I didn't know in the house and you nowhere to be seen," I mumbled.

"You were right to be concerned. I should have asked you before Idid it and I should have told you when it would be done. I'm only trying to do everything I can to keep you safe."

"That's what you keep telling me," I snapped and the moment was ruined. Edward mumbled something about not being able to fucking win no matter what he did and stormed off outside.

After eating a bowl of cereal, I cleaned up the kitchen and did a few other chores around the house to keep busy. Once I was finished I went out to get the mail and as I stepped out of the house I was greeted with a warmer than normal sunny day. Grabbing the mail, I went back in and opened a few of the windows to let some fresh air in. I then headed into my bedroom and changed out of my jeans and t-shirt into a pair of shorts and a tank top. Wanting to enjoy the extra nice weather, I picked one of my favorite books from my nightstand where they sat for those restless nights when I couldn't sleep, and made my way out to the hammock I had hung between two tall shade trees in my backyard.

My book was able to keep me entertained until Edward and…Matt…Mike… whatever his name was had come around back to install motion sensing lights on the back of the house. I tried to stay focused on my book, but my gaze kept wandering from the pages to Edward. I didn't know why but watching him work was quite the turn on. Seeing him climb up and down the ladder, drilling holes for wires, or whatever else it was he did had me entranced and unable to look away. I could tell he was completely in his own world, his element. He moved with such confidence and agility like it was second nature to him. Not that he had been unconfident before, because from what I had seen and experienced with him in our time together, Edward Cullen was good at everything. But this was somehow different. Maybe it was because we were here at my house, I wasn't sure, but I definitely enjoyed watching.

As I continued to watch him work, I relaxed and the lack of sleep over the course of the past week crept up on me until my eyes became so heavy I couldn't fight it anymore. Just as sleep was about to overcome me, the clanging sound of Edward climbing down the ladder jarred me back awake. Rubbing my eyes and picking my book back up, I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and glanced up just in time to see Edward pull his shirt off. At first I just sat there, enjoying the sight before me but trying not to think too much of it and concentrate on my book. However his upper body glistening with sweat in the bright sunshine and combined with his cargo shorts hanging extremely low on his hips was just too much to resist.

The longer I watched with my eyes hidden behind my sunglasses while pretending to read, the more I noticed him looking in my direction a few times. He seemed to be checking to see if I was watching him. Wondering if he was purposefully trying to tease me, I put the book on my chest and tucked my arm behind my head and did my best to appear to be taking a cat nap.

It didn't take long for me to see right through his little game. The moment he picked up his bottle of water and chugged half of it and then looked directly my way while pouring the rest of it over him, I knew he was being a major shit and trying to get a reaction out of me. _Oh, Mr. Cullen, two can play that game_, I thought to myself.

I waited it out until he went back to work. He didn't make it easy though; he flexed and stretched just a little too often than what was needed for it to be anything other than a continuation of this game he was playing. It was obvious he knew I was watching him, but I really didn't care. He'd get a dose of his own medicine soon enough. When I thought enough time had passed by and Edward seemed to be genuinely working again, I nonchalantly got up and went back into the house. I made a beeline straight for my bedroom and dug out an old string bikini I had. After putting the suit on, I slipped the shortest pair of cutoff shorts I had on over the bottoms and pulled my hair up into a pony tail. I then dug through the hall closet to get the bucket, sponge and soap I used to wash my car. Once I got back outside, I saw that I really couldn't have timed it more perfectly. Edward and whats-his-name had now moved to the same side of the house as the driveway.

What was even better was the hose was being blocked by Edward's ladder so I would have to ask him to move it in order to get the hose. Sitting the bucket and other items down on the pavement next to my car, I walked over to him. He had his back to me so I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently to get his attention. _Damn it felt good to touch him again. _

"What's wro—" He froze the moment he turned around and laid eyes on me. Edward was instantly raking over every inch of bare skin I had exposed. He had such a hungry look in his eyes, I had no doubt if things weren't so unsettled between us right now he'd ravish me. As he proceeded to stare at my boobs, I snapped my fingers in front of his face and waved my hand and said, "Hey, eyes up here, buddy," as I pointed to my face.

He cleared his throat and asked, "Um… what are you doing, Bella?"

"I'm going to wash my car. Your ladder is in the way of me getting the hose, so could you move it for a minute _please_?" I asked, turning the sweetness in my voice up a notch as I said please.

"Err…yeah...just a sec," he stammered. _Game on Edward_. He went about moving the ladder and then pulled the hose caddy out for me. Watching his muscles flex and stretch as he moved the ladder back into position was almost as enticing as watching him pull his shirt off and douse himself with water.

He set the hose caddy in front of me and after grazing over my appearance again he said, "Here ya go," and flashed me that sexy ass crocked grin of his. I took the caddy from him and as I did our hands brushed against each other's sending a spark of electricity through me like it was the first time we had ever touched. Pulling his hand away our eyes locked on one another and I could see in his that he had felt it too. Feeling my control over my emotions slipping away, I quickly tugged on the caddy and walked away.

I set about my task of washing the car feeling his eyes on me several times, but I fought the urge to look back, thinking I'd only get busted again like I had so many times in the last couple of days.

By the time I was done, I was hot. The afternoon had gotten a lot warmer than what it usually was here this time of year. I rinsed out my sponge and bucket and was going to roll up the hose and head in the house to take a shower when a naughty little idea popped into my head. I accidently on purpose kicked the bucket over, thinking the sound it made would be enough to catch Edward's attention. It was, however what I hadn't counted on was it also catching the attention of Mike. Pretending that I hadn't seen either one of them looking at me, I adjusted the setting on the hose nozzle so that it was barely more than a mist and tilted my head back and sprayed myself with the water.

The light spray of the cool water felt really good in the hot afternoon sun and I must have indulged in it just a little too long because next thing I knew I heard Edward bellowing to what's-his-name. "Mike, you got work to do! Quit standing around and staring at something you got no business looking at." _Oh I think I struck a nerve._

Silently doing a happy dance in my head, I turned the water off and rolled the hose back up on the caddy. Pulling the caddy back to its place, I walked past both men and saw Mike's head snap to the left and follow my every move as I did.

Edward caught my arm and stopped me. "I think it's about time you went inside and put some less revealing clothes on."

Pretending to ignore him, I walked past him and then over to the hammock to retrieve my book that I had forgotten earlier. I then paraded right past him again only this time I added a little extra wiggle to the sway of my ass as I went by. I swear I heard a low moan coming from him as I did so. After grabbing my car washing supplies I made my way into the house and once I had put the bucket and other stuff away I grabbed a towel and dried off a bit but didn't change clothes yet. I was thirsty and wanted to get something to drink first. Entering the kitchen, I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. Unable to fight the evil grin that was now to spreading across my face, I shut the fridge door and moved to lean against the counter. Twisting off the cap and taking a drink, my smile quickly faded as I watched Edward enter the room. He stood silently, watching me as if he were contemplating what to say.

Edward had reacted exactly as I had wanted him to. His employee making him jealous had just been a bonus. At first I wasn't sure why it thrilled me so much to get such a dramatic reaction out of him. Maybe it was the fun in getting even with him for the little show he had put on. But as I watched his expression soften and his eyes fill with the sadness I had seen in them for several days now, I knew it was because I still cared so deeply for him. His reaction told me in no uncertain terms that he still cared for me too. Of course I'd have to be an idiot not to already know it, he had told me as much, but seeing it somehow made it more real. I had tried to hold on to the anger I had felt after first finding out about his involvement in this mess with Reynolds, but it was getting harder and harder to do. No matter how furious I'd been with him and Emmett for keeping Edward's reason for being in Italy a secret, I couldn't deny the fact that I was tremendously relieved to know there was absolutely no way Edward was tied to James Reynolds.

I was startled from my thoughts when Edward finally spoke, "What the hell was that out there, Bella?" he asked.

"What the hell was what?" I retorted as I fiddled with my bottle of water.

Edward walked across the room. Stopping right in front of me, he leaned forward placing his hands on the counter and effectively trapping me between his arms. "What was the little show you put on out there under the guise of washing your car?" he asked, his face so close to mine if I moved just a couple of inches forward our lips would be touching.

"You think I was putting on a show? I was merely washing my car and I'm sorry if it bothered you. Were you wanting me to wash yours too?" My voice didn't come across nearly as sternly or as sarcastically as I had wanted it too. Being so close to him was messing with me. I could smell his natural musky scent mixed with the sweat from the work he'd been doing outside. It was intoxicating, causing my heart to beat wildly in my chest and my knees to feel weak. And the fact that he was still shirtless only served to make it worse.

"Do you enjoy having men you've just met ogle you, Bella? Because I can assure you he was. He was eying you like you were something to eat."

"He wasn't the only one," I mumbled, trying to pull myself out of the fog he was surrounding me with.

"Not my fault. You're impossible to ignore," he said while toying with my ponytail, threading his fingers through the wet and tangled mess.

I shook my head, getting it to clear out a little and focus on his apparent double-standard. "You don't have any right to be upset. You were the one who started it with your water bottle. If anyone was trying to get ogled, it was you. So if you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do than be subjected to your double-standards," I said as I tried to move away from him, wanting to go to my room before this turned into yet another argument.

"Nope, not so fast, Sweetness," he growled softly as he released my hair. He trapped me between his arms again and pressed his body against mine. "It's not a double-standard and I can prove it. Do you remember what I told you as I made love to you the first time?" he asked in a husky whisper while his lips hovered next to my ear and sent chills throughout my body.

We had said so much to each that night, having pretty much declared right then that we loved each other without actually saying the words, but I couldn't pick out one thing that would have any bearing on what we were now talking about. So I didn't say anything.

"Don't remember? Well let me refresh your memory. I told you that you're mine and you even agreed. Do you remember now?" he asked running his nose along my neck and shoulder. His warm breath swept across my skin, igniting that pulse of energy that always seemed to flow between us. Remembering that night, along with what he was currently doing to me was driving me crazy and taking everything I had to maintain some sense of composure.

I wanted to speak up, tell him to back off. I wanted to hold on to the annoyance I'd felt for him earlier and not fall under this fog he seemed to easily wrap around me. But I couldn't. I was afraid if I opened my mouth the only thing that would escape it would be some unintelligible sound that would let him know just how profoundly he was affecting me. So unable to answer him verbally, I nodded.

"_That's_ why it's not a double-standard. You're mine and have every right to look at me just as I can look at you. But when another man is staring at you, practically undressing you with his eyes ... You're mine, Bella. I don't know how better to say it to you.

"I know you're hurting, and I know you are pissed at me, but I also know you still feel the way you did that night. I can feel it deep down inside in my heart, Bella. I can feel how your body is reacting to me being so close to you right now and I can feel your heart beating so fast it's about to jump out of your chest," he said in the same husky tone while pausing a few times to press his lips against the sensitive area where my neck and shoulder met. He then took my hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. I could feel it beating just as rapidly as mine was.

"I know you can feel that, Bella. You can feel how my heart responds exactly the same way to you. I love you, Bella, and until you can look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me and that you don't want me anymore, then you are still mine, just as I am yours." Then without another word he turned and walked away, leaving me reeling and struggling to hold myself up with the kitchen counter.

Finishing my bottle of water, I slowly but surely recovered from the frazzled state Edward had left me in. After tossing the empty bottle into the trash, I sought out the solace and security I'd find in my bedroom. Despite having drenched myself with the hose outside, I still felt icky and grimy so I hopped into the shower.

As the hot water pounded on my back, my mind was flooded with what felt like a million thoughts. Lathering up my bath sponge I began to wash myself and try to sort out my thoughts.

For all intents and purposes we were now living together even if it had arisen out of need and not choice with no idea how long this situation we'd been thrust into might last. What would that mean for us? Even though we weren't technically "together" we hadn't broken up either. We were stuck in some weird relationship limbo. And that was all on me. Was I making too much of Edward not telling me he was working for Emmett? Was I making it harder than it really had to be? Should I accept his apology and move on?

As I finished washing my body and moved on to my hair, I thought about my reason for distancing myself in the first place. It had been out of the fear that he could be the accomplice. But now that I knew with one hundred percent certainty that he wasn't, what was I holding back for? Shouldn't I be jumping with joy that the man I had fallen in love with wasn't a monster?

I was extremely relieved that he was who he said he was. But as much as I wanted to jump with both feet right back into the bliss that we had shared on Capri, I couldn't. At least not yet. We were back in the real world and the magic bubble that we had existed in, and fallen in love in, no longer was there. So how would that affect our relationship? One thing that was undeniable was the spark flowing between the two of us was burning hotter than ever. Touching him today had been almost painful. I missed it so much.

I rinsed my hair and shut off the water. After drying off, I wrapped the huge bath towel around me and laid down on my bed wondering what to do. My heart told me to just let go. But I still had questions. Questions that would never be answered if I kept pushing him away and not talking about this situation we were in. He had told me that he would answer any question, tell me anything and everything I wanted to know about him. That he hadn't lied at all about who he was.

I was exhausted; the lack of sleep and all that had happened this afternoon left me feeling groggy again and on the brink of dozing off. I then made up my mind, I knew it was time. Later once Edward and I were alone, we needed to talk. With that decision out of the way, I gave in and let sleep overcome me.

**~*EPOV*~**

Mike and I had finally finished installing the alarm system on Bella's house. It had been a long day. And it had been just as emotionally draining as it had been physically. After the brief talk Bella and I had had this morning, I knew that I was slowly breaking down the wall she had built around herself. I had seen it going up the minute we left Capri, but at that time I had never imagined it would shut me out as well. So many things were now so much clearer in hindsight than they had been when they had first occurred. _No wonder they called hindsight twenty-twenty._ My biggest mistake being I should have listened to Jasper and told Bella why I was in Italy. She may have been hurt and pissed, but at least it would have been coming from me and I would have been completely honest with her.

I had been set on going to her as soon as I left Emmett's office on Wednesday and telling her everything. Not only had I been shocked to find her standing there listening to our conversation, but also to discover that she had been the one to do the second background check on me. It was quite the blow to find out she thought I was working for James Reynolds. Not only was I stunned by it, but it hurt like hell for her to think I was capable of such a thing. It made me feel like she didn't really know me at all. I wasn't sure what her reasoning was and I hadn't asked Emmett if she had explained it to him. I didn't want to hear it from him. I wanted her to tell me. But as long as she continued to push me away, I wouldn't be able to get any answers from her.

Who knew she could be so stubborn and obstinate? I knew she was strong willed and determined and had a fiery passion about her. But her actions the past few days showed just how hardheaded she could be when she wanted to. The ironic thing was she was fucking gorgeous and completely mesmerizing when she was caught up in the fiery passion that surrounded her when she was pissed off. She was also totally unaware of it.

Then there was today. I had laughed inside when I realized she was watching me from her spot in the hammock. When I flaunted my bare chest in front of her and dumped the water on it, I knew she was watching and only meant to call her out on it. It was supposed to be fun and harmless and for the most part it was. I had anticipated that maybe she'd get pissy and go back into the house or maybe even call me out for purposefully taunting her. But I had never anticipated the mischievous little vixen that had come out to play today. I had damn near fallen off the ladder when she came sauntering out of the house in her barely there bikini top and her Daisy Duke shorts. To make matters worse her hair was up, exposing every inch of her delicious neck. I had to climb down from the ladder just so I could adjust the wood I'd gotten seeing her in next to nothing. Then as I tried to do it without her or Mike noticing, she came up behind me and asked me to move the ladder. Her hand on my shoulder sent a spark of electricity through me and did nothing to help the situation I was trying to control in my pants.

What did cure the problem quickly was the rage I felt when Mike started salivating over her like he was a ravenous animal and she was a fresh piece of meat. At first he didn't seem to care when I told him the lady was unavailable; I guess he figured it was none of my business. But when he stood there blatantly undressing her with his eyes, I couldn't take any more. I set him straight on that matter real quick. My blood began to boil again as I recalled the conversation.

"_Mike, don't you have work to do, instead wasting time drooling over our clients?" I did my best to keep my tone of voice professional, but I knew it was coming out pretty gruff._

"_What the heck, Cullen, what does it matter if I indulge in a little eye candy?" he snapped sarcastically._

_It took everything I had to not rip his head off as I reiterated what I had said earlier. "I already told you the lady is unavailable." _

"_So."_

"_So? Don't fuck with me, Mike; I'm not in the mood. I suggest if you know what's good for you and you want to continue to afford that shiny little sports car you just bought, you knock the shit off and get back to work." I started to walk away before I lost my cool, but what he said next pushed me well past the boiling point._

"_I can't believe you're going to threaten me with my job over some other guy's piece of ass. That's mighty big of you, Cullen, I really don't see why you're getting all bent out of shape," he sneered._

_I turned and quickly took a few steps until I was standing in front of him. Twisting his shirt in my hand, I shoved him up against the house and got in his face. "You wanna know why the fuck it matters? It matters because first of all she is way out of your league, I've seen what you crawl into bed with. Second, Bella is not just some other guy's piece of ass. She happens to be the woman I love and if I ever hear you talk about her like that again, I'll rip your fucking balls off and feed them to Jasper's dog." Releasing his shirt and taking a step back I then warned him one last time, " Now if you wanna keep your job get your ass back to work."_

_He didn't say another word, he just huffed off and fortunately chose to go back to what he was supposed to be doing. _

I put the rest of my tools away and went to get something to drink before I sought out Bella. I was done letting her push me away. If she needed time to sort shit out that was fine, I'd give her all the time she needed. But I was tired of this cat and mouse game we had been playing for the past two days. I had no idea how long I'd be staying here with her and if we had to constantly walk on eggshells around each other it was going to be hell on both of us.

Opening the fridge, I was glad to find a couple of beers near the back. Sitting at the table while I drank it, my thoughts turned to what had happened in here just a couple of hours ago. The way she had responded to my touch told me everything I needed to know. She still loved me. She had never said the words, and she might be struggling with her emotions right now, but she did. I had been so close to lifting her up on the counter and taking her right there, not giving a damn that Mike could walk in at any minute. And as much as I was fairly sure that right then in that moment she would have let me, I knew it would only have made matters worse between us. We needed to clear the air before anything like that could happen again.

As I downed the last of the beer, I noticed the house was unusually quiet. She had been hiding out in her bedroom since I came to stay here, but she had always had the TV or some sort of music on while in there. So for the house to be completely silent worried me a bit. The door was partially closed and there was no sound at all coming from inside. I rapped lightly with my knuckle on the door, but still nothing. Gently pushing it open, what I saw took my breath away. Bella was sound asleep on her bed in nothing more than a large towel. It took every ounce of strength I had not to go to her and scoop her up in my arms and hold her. I wanted to so badly. It was more like a need to hold her, kiss her, sooth her fears and promise her that I wouldn't let anything happen to her. To just be there for her and more than anything tell her I loved her without having to worry about how she would feel about me saying it. And if I was completely honest with myself, I wanted to hear her say those words back to me.

She started to stir and I didn't want to cause any more friction between us by her finding me standing in her room as she slept. I left and pulled the door back to where it had been. I then went to get some clean clothes and take a shower. After that I would see if she had anything to fix for dinner. If not maybe she'd let me take her out to eat.

A couple of hours later, Bella came padding into the kitchen. She must not have been as close to waking up as I thought earlier. Her left cheek was still slightly red and had lines on it from being pressed against her rumpled pillow case. She was absolutely adorable. It reminded me of our last morning together on Capri.

"What's that smell? Are you cooking?" she asked.

"Yeah, I was hungry and found some chicken in the freezer. There was nothing to fix with it though so I called my sister and she ran to the store for me. You hungry?"

"Um… yeah. So you can cook?" The look of surprise on her face was adorable.

"Yes I can. A few things anyways. You looked surprised." She blushed and it was beautiful. I had missed this side of her.

"You just never said anything about being able to cook," she stated shyly.

I stopped what I was doing and walked over to her. Instead of pulling her into my arms like I wanted to, I lifted her chin gently so she was looking at me.

"I think there are probably a lot of things we don't know about each other. If we continue to be on opposite sides of the fence, we may never learn what those things are. And I think before we can get to the point where we are on the same side again we need to sit down and talk about everything that's happened this past week."

She nodded and then asked, "When?"

"How about after dinner?"

"Ok."

We didn't say a whole lot to each other after that. She set the table and showed me where something was if I asked. For the most part she just sat at the table watching me. However the times when I'd ask her where something was and we worked together for even just a few minutes, it made me wonder if it could always be this comfortable for us to live together. It made me wonder if I was getting a glimpse of what our future could be like. I had felt her absence in my life the two days I had gone without seeing her after we first arrived back in Seattle. What would it be like if we worked things out and lived together for however long it took to figure out who was helping Reynolds, and then I had to go home without her? The oven timer dinged stopping me from thinking about it any longer.

I pulled the baked potatoes from the oven and Bella served the salad while I got the chicken off the grill.

We made small talk mostly while we ate. When we were finished I suggested we clean up together. As we moved effortlessly around each other until everything was clean and put away, I was again wondering if this is what we could have once we worked through this mess we were caught up in. A few years ago I wouldn't have dared to entertain thoughts of my long term future or that it would include a woman as special as Bella. But here I was helping her clean her kitchen and I couldn't stop. Bella didn't say much as we cleaned, but judging by the look on her face I wondered if she was having similar thoughts to mine. Once we were done, I followed her into the living room where she took one end of the couch and I took the other.

After a few moments of silent torture watching Bella nervously chew on her bottom lip, with me wishing I could be kissing that same lip, she surprised me by starting the conversation, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Initially I didn't tell you because Emmett had made it clear that it was in your best interest if I didn't," I told her while trying to turn my focus to our conversation and not continue to stare at her lips. She was so distracting and she didn't even know it.

"How so?"

"He said that if you had any clue that there was a need for you to have any kind of protection while being half way around the world, that you'd be on the first plane back to Seattle and he didn't feel it was safe for you to do so at the time."

"That's what he said to me too. You said initially. Does that mean your reason changed?"

"Yes it did," I told her as I scooted closer to her.

"Then why?" she asked, but she wouldn't look at me. Instead she was peeling the label off her water bottle.

"Bella, please look at me while we talk. I need to see your face; I need to see what you're feeling." She did as I asked and I went on and explained, "Once I realized that I was falling in love with you, I knew I needed to tell you. I really did want to and Jasper had even told me on more than one occasion that if I didn't I would regret it and he was absolutely right. But I was scared."

"Scared? What where you scared of?" she asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"First let me tell you that after I saw Emmett on Wednesday, it had been my intention to come straight to you and tell you. I wanted to be the one to do it. But you overheard us and well… you know the rest from there. As for why I was scared, there was still the initial reason for my not telling you. The thought that you'd head back to Seattle and would then be in danger scared the hell out of me. But what ultimately kept me from telling you was the fear that you'd be angry and not want anything to do with me anymore or that you'd think you were just a job to me."

"I wasn't?"

"No, Bella. My god how can you even ask me that?"

"So you didn't seek me out on the beach that first night? You didn't know I'd be there because you were watching me?"

"No. Jasper had been watching you. I was feeling restless and went for a run. It was something I was used to doing every morning here in Seattle, and I hadn't been able to since we had arrived on Capri. When I was finished, I had gotten sand in my shoes from running on the beach. I took them off and walked for a bit to cool down from my run. It was a beautiful night, the sunset was amazing and before I knew it I had walked further than I had realized. I had been just about to turn around and head back when I saw you. At first I didn't know who you were. But I felt this strange pull to you. To talk to you and see who you were. When I got closer that's when I recognized you. But something held me there, I still couldn't turn away. Then when you got up to leave the same pull that I felt towards you that kept me from turning away, told me not to let you leave. It was like gravity. Like you were pulling me to you."

"I felt it too," she whispered, and then asked, "Um… how did you recognize me?"

"Emmett had given me a picture of you."

She nodded and said, "Makes sense. You would kinda need to know what I looked like to watch out for me."

"Bella do you believe me when I tell you that I love you?" I blurted out before I could stop myself, and then all I could think was let her say anything but no. Just don't say no.

"I want to," she replied letting out a long breath before continuing, "I want it to be true, more than anything I've ever wanted in my life. But I'm scared too. You knew how important honesty was to me, yet the whole time we were together there was this lie out there. Part of me understands why you did it. But it still hurt that you kept it from me and part of me wonders if you were just with me because you had to be, because you were doing your job to protect me."

"Jesus, Bella, no. I was with you because I wanted to be, because I didn't know how to not be with you. Since the moment we met all my thoughts have been consumed by you. My dreams filled with images of you, and after a while memories of the time I spent with you. It was like I was an addict and you were my drug. I think I began falling in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you."

She looked at me and nodded, but for some reason it didn't seem to click. And I didn't know how else to tell her I was only ever with her because I wanted to be. After that first night I didn't know how to stay away. Then it hit me as I went through everything she had said to me. "I didn't have to spend all that time with you to do my job, Bella."

Her head snapped up with my last statement and her were eyes wide with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"Spending time with you was never part of the job description. I was supposed to remain invisible, watch you from a distance. Jasper and I took turns watching you and watching your grandmother's house and the surrounding property. Emmett felt certain that you'd be safe out in the public eye, so neither of us ever followed you when you went somewhere."

"So just how did you do that?" she inquired and I could see the wheels in her head spinning, trying to piece everything together.

"We had binoculars as well as a telescope set up to keep watch through. The closeness of the two houses allowed us the perfect spot to watch everyone coming to and from your grandmother's house.

"I see," she stated.

"Oh and before you ask, there were never any time that either of us were focused on any of the rooms of the house. I never got a peep show of you dressing or undressing. I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it, but it never happened."

"Wait, you said you had bugs in the house?"

I chuckled, wondering when that would finally sink in. "Yes. The afternoon after Jasper and I arrived, you and your grandmother left and I jogged down the beach and picked the lock on the door. Which reminds me, she really should have another type of latch on that door, a chain or a sliding lock that can't be picked."

"What day did you do it?" she asked.

"It was the same day I met you, why?" I was curious why it mattered what day it had been.

"Oh, I was just trying to figure out where we had gone," she explained.

I closed the remaining distance between us on the couch. Reaching out and taking her hands in mine, I stared into her eyes and poured my heart out to her. "Bella, tell me what I have to do to make this up to you. What I need to do to make things right between us again and to prove to you just how much I love you. You mean the world to me and I'll do whatever it takes to prove my love to you."

The tears began to trickle down her cheeks. I couldn't resist any longer, I pulled her to me and held her in my arms. When she didn't fight me I wrapped my arms even tighter around her and held her as close to me as possible while she cried. "Shhh," I said trying to sooth her. "I'm here for you, Baby, I'll always be here for you. You don't have to go through this alone. Just tell me how to make it better and I will."

She sat back a bit and wiped her face with her hands. "Time," she said. "I just need some time to sort through everything and figure things out in my head."

Cupping her face inn my hands I said to her, "Take all the time you need. I'm not going anywhere. I won't be the one to let you go, Bella. You'll have to make me go and like I told you earlier, you'll have to look me in the eye and tell me you don't love me and that you don't want me." I then leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

She got up and said she was tired and was going to go lie down in bed, read and try to begin to sort through what we had talked about. I didn't want to let her go but I did. I still had questions for her, but we had made a lot of progress tonight and my questions could wait. I told her she knew where I'd be if she needed me. She then nodded and left the room.

I spent the next couple of hours watching the end of the baseball game. When it was over I turned the TV off and after making sure the alarm was set, I made my way down the hall to the room across from Bella's. Her door was slightly ajar again so I took a chance and peeked in on her. She was sound asleep clutching her pillow to her chest. She had fallen asleep on top of her blankets, but I noticed a throw at the foot of her bed. Quietly making my way to the bed, I covered her up with the throw. Unable to stop myself, I brushed back the hair that had fallen across her face. She had been crying some more; I could see the dried tear stains on her cheeks. I wanted to lie next to her and hold her and make all her fears go away. It was a very tempting thought. But our talk had gone well and I didn't want to risk ruining any progress we had made. I bent over to place a kiss on her cheek and about came undone when I heard her murmur the words "love Edward" in her sleep. It was exactly what I needed to have faith that we'd get past this. I'd wait as long as it took for her to come back to me.

**Now I know there are going to be those of you who are going to think that Edward let her grill him. Just chill out for now, this is not the last conversation these two will be having. Hope you liked it, this chapter was a blast to write. See ya Monday with the teaser to chapter 10. **

**Thanks for reading, EA~  
**


	10. False Pretense

**Good morning and happy Friday everyone! Lots of information coming in this chapter, so grab a cup of coffee or a bottle of Mountain Dew, whichever is your morning caffeine fix and dig in. **

**I am always extremely grateful for the help_ My Bella_ and _Hope4more_ give me, but even more so with this chapter since I attempted to write it a couple of weeks ago while sick, and well... lets just say, me writing while on cold meds is not a good thing. You guys are the best. **

**Special thanks to _Alicetheannoyinglittlepixie_ for her awesome fashion expertise. She designed Bella's outfit for this chapter. The link for the Truths, Lies and Alibis collection on polyvore is on my profile page as well as my blog. There are a few sets for various chapters in the story.  
**

**Thanks to Stephenie Meyer, 'cause she owns it all and if she didn't none of us would be here right now.  
**

_Oh, it's time to let it go_

_The world's got a funny way of turning 'round on you  
When a friend tries to stab you right in the face  
Losing faith in everything I thought I hoped I knew  
Don't sweat it, {it was} set on false pretense_

_Betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
And it doesn't seem likely to fade  
Betrayed but not gonna be willing to change  
Cu-cu-cu-cuz you know..._

_It's sacrifice  
False pretense you'll hurt again  
Stop pretending to deny  
False pretense you'll hurt again_

_All along you know you thought you got the best of me  
{But} you were wrong and I'm laughing right in your face  
I cannot believe you claimed you were my family  
Don't sweat it - it's set on false pretense_

_**False Pretense by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus**_

**~*BPOV*~**

**_June 29, 2010_**

I had been pleasantly surprised by how much better Edward and I had been getting along over the last couple of days. Edward helped around the house by doing his own laundry and he was also rather efficient at picking up after himself. He even offered to cook for me again sometime. When I asked him about it, he said that he was simply doing what he was used to and didn't expect for me to become his maid just because we were living under the same roof.

We had even managed to survive going to the grocery store together. I had wanted to go to Pikes Market since I had enjoyed the open-air market in Capri so much with Nana, but Edward was leery of me being in such a large open area that would probably be really crowded. He said it would be too easy for someone to follow us and get lost; undetected in the maze of people and venders if they should try to cause trouble for us. But he did promise he'd take me when this mess was all over. I was thrilled and scared at the same time with how easy it was for him to think about our future.

So I had accepted his reasoning and settled on the regular grocery store. I thought back to Sunday afternoon and how much fun it had actually been to get out of the house and do something normal.

_When we arrived at the store, the first thing we did was grab a cart. I had to promise Edward that next time he could push the cart when he pouted because I got one before he did. He literally hung his head and slumped his shoulders like a little boy not getting his way. It was actually quite adorable and I couldn't help giggling at him. It was so good to laugh again._

_We were about halfway through the store when I realized the amount of food we had accumulated in the cart._

"_Um, Edward, are you expecting a lot of company sometime soon?" I asked while he was browsing the frozen food section. _

_He turned around giving me a puzzled expression. "No. Why?"_

"_Just who to you expect to eat all of this food you keep adding to the cart?" _

_Walking over to the cart and adding a container of ice cream called Moose Tracks he replied with a huge grin on his face, "We are."_

_I looked all around us and then back to him and said, "Um, we as in you and me? 'Cause unless you have a starving small army hidden in your room that I am unaware of I can't imagine us eating half this food."_

"_I'm a growing boy, I need to eat," he said as he picked a grape out of the bag in the cart and popped it in his mouth._

"_Growing boy my ass," I mumbled thinking he hadn't heard me. But apparently he had because next thing I knew he was planting a big kiss on my cheek and telling me not to worry that the food would get eaten. _

He had been in an extremely chipper mood that afternoon and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. Not that I wanted or thought he should be in a bad mood, he just seemed lighter and happier.

We had learned some things about each other that we hadn't known before, including our favorite foods, as well as some that we didn't like. I think we both even enjoyed ourselves. It felt completely natural to be doing things such as grocery shopping with him.

Things were hardly back to normal between us, but we were making some progress. Our talk had gone a long way to ease a lot of the tension and we were cohabitating in a more peaceful manner. Perhaps that was why he was in such a good mood back on Sunday. I think it also helped that I wasn't going out of my way to avoid him or be snotty towards him. At least not on purpose. There were still some moments when my emotions would get the better of me and I would snap. But now I would also apologize for it later.

Before our talk on Saturday, if I had been in a room and he entered it, I would quickly exit it. Or if he was in a room I would stay out of it. I had holed myself up in my bedroom most of the time and even though I still spent a lot of time there, we were able to be in the same room with each other and it wasn't as awkward as it had been prior to our talk.

I knew he wanted to make things right between us, and I truly did miss what we had on Capri, but for whatever reason I still couldn't let go of my issues. I had asked Edward for time and he agreed to give me all I needed.

My better mood seemed to translate into a better appearance. Instead of just throwing on a pair of slacks and a blouse as I had last week for work, today I decided to put a little effort into what I would wear.

After skimming through my closet I decided on a purple top with short gathered sleeves that sat on my shoulders, a black skirt which hung to about mid-calf and my black knee high suede boots. Then after adding earrings and a bracelet, I gathered what I needed for work and made my way to the living room, wondering if Edward would notice the change in my appearance.

The smell of fresh brewed coffee hit me as soon as I entered the room. I recognized the scent immediately; it was my favorite kind. I set my things down on the small table by the front door and headed towards the kitchen.

Edward was sitting at the table reading the paper and drinking a cup of coffee.

"Good morning," I said smiling brightly at him as I grabbed myself a cup.

"Good mor—" he cut himself off and nearly missed his mouth as he was in the middle of raising his cup to his to take a drink of his coffee. He couldn't take his eyes off me and I was internally doing a little bit of a happy dance.

I set my cup down on the table to cool a bit and then got a container of yogurt out of the fridge.

"I see you found my secret stash of gourmet coffee?" I asked. I was still smiling from his reaction to my appearance as I closed the refrigerator door.

Lowering the paper down he watched me as I moved across the room to get a spoon out of the drawer.

As I sat down at the table, Edward cleared his throat and turned his gaze back to his paper before saying in a slightly strangled tone, "Uh…yeah it was all I could find. I hope its ok." His timid response had me wondering where confident Edward had gone or did I really have that big of an impact on him.

"Yeah it is. It's my favorite," I told him as I pulled the foil lid of the container of yogurt.

"It's good. Where did you get it?" he asked, while getting up to refill his cup.

"Oh, you can't get it here in Seattle. My roommate from college lives in New York and she sends it to me. Sometimes she sends chocolate too."

"That's nice of her, it's really good. Are the two of you close?"

"As close as you can be considering we live on opposite sides of the continent. We got our masters in psychology together. About six months after we graduated, her boyfriend was offered a job in New York and she went with him. So every once in a while she'll send some of the coffee. It's her favorite too."

"Are they still together?" he asked raising the cup to his mouth for another drink.

"Yeah, they got married a year later. She has a partner whom she shares a private practice with and her husband Ben is an accountant for some big firm up there."

"So what about you? Did you have any serious boyfriends in college?" he asked as he folded the paper up and set it aside.

"Um, just one," I answered nervously. I knew sooner or later I would have to have this conversation with him. I probably should have told him about Garrett when we talked Saturday night. My relationship with Garrett was a big part of why I was so afraid to trust my own emotions now and not rely so heavily on my gift. But I also knew that since my gift was pretty much useless when it came to Edward I would have to let the past go if I wanted to be with him. But I really didn't want to start my day by telling Edward how I had lost my virginity and gotten my heart broke all by the same guy.

"Just one? I find it hard to believe someone as beautiful as you didn't have more boyfriends than that," he said as his eyes were once again raking over me.

"No not really when you think about it."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

"Remember me, the girl with the strange gift to tell when she's being lied to? It's extremely hard to keep a guy interested once they learn you can do that. Or the ones you simply quit seeing because you learned they had lied to you."

"Fools. They were all fools if you ask me," he said. "They were too blind to see what a gift you were for just who you are, and idiots for lying."

I quirked an eyebrow in his direction in response to his last remark before I got up to place my spoon and cup in the sink.

I rinsed out my cup and was standing at the sink with my back to Edward when I heard him say, "Yes, Bella, I was an idiot. I should have told you right away. I should have trusted in our feelings for each other enough to believe that we'd get past it."

Not realizing he had come to stand behind me, when I turned to move away from the sink and leave the kitchen, I plowed right into him. Almost as if acting on instinct, his arms wrapped around me and held me against his chest.

I looked up at him as he began to talk again. "Bella, I don't know who this guy was or what he did to break your heart, but I can see the pain he caused you in your eyes. I love your eyes and do you know why?" he asked and I shook my head no. "Your eyes are like windows to your heart. You can see so much of what you are thinking and feeling reflected in them. And if I have anything to say about it, no man will ever break your heart again. Myself included." He then leaned down and kissed my forehead and released his hold on me. As I moved to walk past him he caught my arm and said, "I meant what I said, you are beautiful and any man would be a fool to let you go. I can't do it by myself though, Bella. Help me hold on to what we have."

"I'm trying," I whispered as he let go of my arm.

"That's all I ask," he replied.

I nodded and then walked out of the kitchen.

Edward followed me out of the kitchen. I was halfway up the stairs when I heard Edward coming up behind me. I reached the landing and after taking a quick peek at him, turned toward my bedroom. Just before I went inside he asked, "Will you be ready to go soon?"

"Yes, in just a few minutes. I just need to brush my teeth."

"Ok. I just have to grab my keys and wallet and I'll meet ya downstairs."

I paused at my bedroom door and turned around. "Edward?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"You look really good too." And he did; the dark green of his dress shirt enhanced his eye color perfectly.

Edward didn't say anything but instead flashed me that drop dead sexy grin of his as he entered his room. One of these days that grin was going to turn me into a puddle of goo.

Edward was waiting by the front door for me when I entered the living room ready to leave. He opened the door and told me to go so he could set the alarm.

Once we were in the car and headed towards my work, I quit procrastinating and told him about something I should have two days ago. Hesitantly I said, "Um, I'd like to go to Forks this weekend."

"For the entire weekend?" he asked with what I swore was a hint of nervousness.

"Well, that is what my parents would like. But I didn't think it would be fair to make you have to spend the entire weekend being subjected to the craziness that is my family so I was hoping maybe all day Saturday and Sunday. I'm off work on Monday since the 4th is on a Sunday so we could drive back late Sunday night after the fireworks or Monday morning. Whichever you would prefer. Or you know since my father is a police officer you really don't have to stay if you don't want to," I offered.

"Bella, I'm not leaving you in Forks. If you want to go, we'll go. But I'm staying there with you. Are your parents aware of the situation with us? I mean, do they know I am living with you right now and why?"

"Yes. I explained the situation to my mother when she called on Sunday. I haven't told them about us. But that doesn't mean Nana hasn't."

"Do your parents have enough room for the both of us? Or should I get us a hotel room?" he asked.

"They have plenty of room. Nana is in the guest room so I am sure they will just put you in my brother's old room."

"And where is that in relation to where you'll be?"

"Um, it's right across the hall from mine."

"Good. So listen, since we are discussing family gatherings and all. I was wondering if you'd be my date for my sister's wedding in a couple of weeks?"

"When is it?" I asked looking over at him and noticing for the first time this morning that he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. The scruff actually looked really good on him. It made him look a little rough around the edges and I liked it.

He smiled as he caught me staring at him, "See something you like, Agent Swan?"

"I...ah… just noticed you haven't shaved recently," I mumbled while looking away, trying to hide the blush I could feel heating my face.

"My razor broke. You know, you don't have to hide or be embarrassed to look at me, Bella. Look all you want, I really don't mind," he said as he reached over and lovingly stroked the side of my face with the back of his hand. Without realizing what I was doing I leaned into his touch, again forcing myself to acknowledge just how much I missed it.

"Why?" I murmured.

"Why, what?" he asked.

"You told me to look at you all I want. It doesn't bother you?"

"No. It lets me know you're still interested. And, Bella, as long as I know you're still interested, I know there's still hope that things will work out between us."

"Oh," I whispered not knowing what else to say.

We remained silent the rest of the way to the federal building. He parked his mustang in my assigned spot and then escorted me up to the series of offices where the bureau was located. He then gently squeezed my hand and said he'd see me around five. I nodded and headed towards my office.

I heard someone behind me and glancing over my shoulder saw Jessica coming up behind me.

"Who's the hot stud, Swan?"

"Since when do you refer to men as hot studs, Jess?" I asked while trying not to laugh.

"Well ya know, just because I prefer women, doesn't mean I can't recognize a good looking man when I see one. It just means I don't want to screw him," she scoffed playfully.

"He's a friend," was all the information I was willing to give her. I really didn't suspect her as the leak in the bureau, but I wasn't going to take any chances.

"Come on, I saw the way he looked at you. You've got to give me more than that," she whined as she followed me into my office.

"No, actually I don't and I'm not. Sorry." I leveled my gaze at her to let her know she needed to drop it.

"You know what you need, Swan?"

"No, but I'm sure you're about to tell me," I encouraged hoping the faster she got through whatever it was she had to say, the faster she'd be gone and I could get to work.

"You need to get laid. I'd be willing to bet it's been way too long. Months probably."

"You know what, Jess. You might just be right. But unfortunately I don't see that happening in the immediate future, so I guess everyone will have to deal with my sunny personality," I quipped.

She refused to let up, and went on to attempt to convince me to see if my "friend" who had escorted me to work would be willing to engage in a "friends with benefits" arrangement.

Fortunately before I had time to get any more frustrated with her than I already was, Emmett showed up and dismissed her so he could talk to me.

"What's up?" I asked as he sat on the corner of my desk and fiddled with a paper weight he had picked up.

"Have you gotten the copies of the sign in log from the prison?"

"No, I was going to ask you the same thing."

"I figured if you had you would have said something. I called them this morning and they said they had been sent out the same day we requested them," he explained.

"That's odd they should have been here by now. Do you think someone intercepted them?"

"That's precisely what I was thinking myself. So if they were, it'd probably be a waste of our time to submit a second request. I'm thinking the best option is to go take a look at them ourselves. You up for that?" he asked.

"Sure. When were you thinking?"

"Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Does that work for you?"

"Yeah. Oh by the way, I got some info on Reynolds' brother."

"Whatcha got?" he asked while getting up off my desk and sitting in the chair in front of it.

"According to what I've found, his name is Jared and he's a mailman down in Olympia. I also found out he has been named executor of Reynolds' estate and stands to inherit most of his assets once he's been executed."

"You think he's a possible suspect for delivering the apples?" Emmett asked.

"Well his occupation certainly would make him suspicious, but if it is him there still has to be someone else. Someone here in the bureau who fed him my whereabouts and home address. There's no way he could be acting alone. I'm thinking if it is him, he is just the delivery guy. I'm waiting on a background check to come back on him as well as running his name to see if he has ever been issued a passport. I hope to have them both back this afternoon."

"Let me know what you find. We can make a run down to Olympia and question him as soon as you get the info."

Changing the subject I asked, "How's Rose?"

"She's good. A little pissed that you haven't called or come by the house since you've been back."

I raised an eyebrow at him to let him know I was still upset. He knew our current situation prevented me from doing so. "Tell her I'm sorry. I've meant to call her but things have been so crazy and well…you know it's not like I can just come and go as I please right now."

"She knows. I've told her what I can, which isn't much, but she'll get over it. So how are things with you and Cullen?"

"Don't want to talk about it, Emmett."

"I'll take that to mean you guys haven't talked about anything and you're still pissed."

"What part of 'I don't want to talk about it' do you not understand? I already had to deal with Jessica asking questions this morning. You of all people ought to know when I say I don't want to talk about it, I mean it," I huffed.

"Is that what she was doing in here?" he asked.

"Yes she saw him walk me up this morning and she decided to play twenty questions and then inform me that I needed to get laid."

Emmett snorted. "She might have a point, Bella."

"Go to hell, Emmett," I snapped.

"Look, you need to talk to Edward, hear what he has to say. You know I ordered him not to tell you right?"

"Yes, Emmett, I know. We talked over the weekend. He apologized and explained his reasons for his actions. I just feel… I don't know what I feel other than confused right now."

"Are you going to hold a grudge against him forever, Bella? What are you going to do if you wait too long? Have you thought about that? Is him keeping the fact that he was working for me the real reason you are pushing him away so easily? When was the last time you had a man in your life that wasn't a platonic relationship? Think about it, Bella. What if by the time you get around to letting it go, he's moved on?"

"No, I haven't. And if you think this is easy for me, you are sadly mistaken. Edward and I talked, he said to take all the time I need, that he's not going anywhere," I defended.

"Look, Bella. I'm not trying to tell you what to do or how to live your life. But even if he says that now, you can't expect him to wait forever. Sooner or later if you keep him waiting, he's going to give up and move on. Might not be next week, or even next month, or it might last until this mess with Reynolds is all cleared up. But what happens when he goes home and life goes back to normal and he's not spending as much time with you? Just think about it," he advised.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Emmett. And I get what you're saying. I'm just confused and I need to sort some things out in my head. Maybe in my heart too. Ok?"

"Ok. Well I am going to go set up the time for us to go check out those sign in logs next week at the prison. Let me know if you get that shit back on Reynolds' brother."

"I will," I told him, although at the moment, James Reynolds was the furthest thing from my mind.

Emmett's words were swirling in my head. I had never considered the possibility that I might lose Edward if I took too long to either cut ties completely or to move forward and fix things between us. I had been prepared for the possibility of not having him in my life if he had been the one helping Reynolds and that hurt bad enough. How would I feel if it were my fault, if I waited too long and lost him because of my own insecurities? Emmett did have a point about me keeping myself distanced from everyone. Right now that even included him. But how long would I be able to continue to do so before there was no one left?

"Uggghhh," I groaned wishing it were so much easier for me to trust Edward. _Trust myself._

The rest of the morning went by fairly uneventful. I passed the time combing through everything in Reynolds' file. I also started a list of suspects within the office. Seth, Emmett and I were having a meeting tomorrow morning to go over everyone's personal files.

On my list was everyone's names. I tried to piece together any sort of link or connection they might have to Reynolds and what reason they could possibly have for working with him. So far I hadn't been able to come up with anything concrete. Money, blackmail and revenge were the usual reasons someone would align themselves with a criminal such as Reynolds.

As I continued with the list, it dawned on me that Jacob Black hadn't been in the office since I had returned; it had been over a week. Not that I missed his arrogant ass, but it struck me as odd. I made a mental to ask Emmett or Seth about it. I also recalled at one time or another being told that Seth and Jacob were cousins or something like that. If they were related, would he betray his own relative as well as his boss?

In the past I had always tried to stay as far away from Jake as I could. It seemed any time he was anywhere near me he was hitting on me or begging me to date him, which I constantly turned him down. His advances in the elevator the day I left had been the most aggressive he had ever been. But of course we had also been completely alone at that time too. I was going to have to bite the bullet and pay much closer attention to Mr. Black now.

Then there was Jessica who was a nosy busy body. She did her job well, but she was always a little too deep into everyone's personal business. Was it just an innocent habit or was she digging for info. She had been hovering around me more than she normally would since I had come back. I knew that she and Lauren had been trying to adopt a child, so could money be a motivating factor for her?

Tyler was one of those straight and narrow guys. Followed the rules to a 'T' and refused to bend them even the slightest. This made him pretty unlikely to be the leak, but then again it was often the ones that you least expected it to be.

Sam was the office techy nerdy guy. Not to say he looked like a nerd, but was into all the latest advances in technology and that sort of thing. He had only been here for a little more than a year. He had transferred from the office in Dallas. Apparently his three year old daughter needed medical care from a specialist that was located here. I had never worked a case with him so I hadn't had much contact with him. I just knew the basics, which was he was married, his wife's name was Leah and they had three kids. So the big question with him wouldn't be if he could hack into the bureau's system and find out my location, but could he do it without being picked up by the bureau's backup security systems? The other question would be did he need money for his daughter's medical treatments? I would say yes to both being possibilities. I wasn't condemning him as the guilty one, but as of right now he stood out as the one with the most to gain besides Jessica.

The only other remaining members of our office were Seth, Emmett and myself. Emmett I trusted implicitly. I was aware that Emmett had determined Seth to be the easiest for him to get cleared and had urged the higher ups to do so as quickly as possible knowing he wouldn't be able to handle the case alone. However it still didn't stop me from wanting to look at everyone from every angle.

The only reason I could come up with for Seth being a possible suspect would be that he was supposed to have originally headed up this investigation while I was gone. But as soon as an internal leak was suspected it was placed in Emmett's hands and according to Emmett Sam and Jake were also immediately removed from the case. Which meant one of two things. If the accomplice was either Jake or Sam, they had already gained the information they needed to locate me or they continued digging once they were taken off the case until they found what they were looking for.

However, Seth had never shown any signs of disrespect towards Emmett, nor had he ever acted as though he was one to hold a grudge, especially when the reason the case was handed to Emmett was because it was procedure to do so since it was an internal investigation and had to be handled by the commanding agent in the office. It was in no way a reflection on his ability to handle the case. And even if Seth or Sam and Jake for that matter, had any hard feelings about not being in command or being removed entirely from the case, it is hardly enough reason to hand over information that would put the life of a fellow agent on the line.

The only differences would be that Seth would be completely aware of why the case was being handed over to Emmett. Jake and Sam would simply be told new developments in the case called for the changes and in order to keep the integrity of the investigation from being compromised they couldn't be told why. They would accept that a being part of the job. It wouldn't be taken personally. There would have to be a much deeper, more sinister reason for whoever it was that was helping Reynolds.

I knew that Seth and Emmett would have their own observations and ideas to add to mine, so I printed a copy of what I had for each of them to look over and add what they thought would be helpful.

As I walked up front to retrieve the documents from the printer, I was shocked to see Jake talking with Jessica in the break room. I had no idea he was back and the conversation looked pretty intense as did the expressions on their faces. But because the door was shut I couldn't get a feel on any emotions emanating from either of them without going in there. I hesitated, trying to decide if I should or not. Chances were whatever they were discussing they would probably end the conversation as soon as I entered the room. I procrastinated too long and my choice was made for me when Jessica spotted me in the hall and waved for me to come in. I was instantly hit with a plethora of varying emotions; anger, sadness, regret, nervousness, as well as a few others.

What really piqued my interest though, was why these two were having a conversation that would involve such intense emotions. If they had been romantically involved I could see it. But they were so far from that sort of involvement it didn't make sense. That is unless Jess was thinking of switching teams, which I didn't see happening. Although her gaze did linger on Edward for quite a while this morning.

"Where were you off to?" Jessica asked.

"I was on my way to the printer. Why, what are you guys up to?"

"Oh we were just commiserating with one another," she explained. But I knew instantly she was lying. Or at the very least not telling me the whole truth.

"So, Swan, how does it feel to be back?" Jacob asked with a cocky grin on his face.

"It's great actually," I replied, not willing to give either of them even the tiniest bit of information.

"Well you certainly don't look so great. You'd think you would at least come back looking well rested and full of energy, but you look tired and run down," he chided.

"Geez, Jake, way to make her feel like shit," Jessica chastised as she smacked him on the arm. Something about their coziness didn't sit right with me.

"Don't worry about it, Jess. I'm used to him being a jackass. Why would he behave any differently now? So what were you two discussing, it looked pretty intense?" It was no secret in the office that I had a very strong dislike of Jacob. We got along like oil and water and that was when he wasn't being a jerk.

He tried to hide it but I caught the look that they sent each other. It was one of those looks that silently said 'don't say anything'. They were hiding something and not doing a very good job of it. I saw him just barely shake his head telling her no again.

Jess took a drink of the soda she had in her hand and motioned for me to sit down, while Jake moved across the room and pulled whatever he was eating for lunch out of the microwave.

I explained I was waiting for important information and needed to get back to my desk, so I asked her to walk up to the printer with me and fill me in. I was anxious to get the info, but in reality I wanted to get to the printer before anyone in the office got a chance to see my notes on them. I didn't know if what she was about to tell me would be what they were talking about, but one thing was certain whatever she said, I'd know if she was lying.

As we made our way up to the front office, she filled me in on how Lauren had undergone in-vitro and it had failed. About how it was so expensive and because of that they were torn over whether to attempt the procedure again or to move forward with applying to become adoptive parents. I told her how sorry I was and offered to lend her an ear if she needed to talk. I hadn't detected anything she had said to me as untruthful and I was sincere in my offer to be there if she needed someone to talk to. There was always the chance if she confided in me you never knew what little tidbit of information might slip out.

Once I was back at my desk I saw I had gotten an email with the information on Reynolds' brother. I looked it over and then called Emmett and asked him if he would get Seth and then come to my office.

"So what'd ya find out, Swan?" Seth inquired as he sat directly across from my desk.

"Well first I don't know if Emmett has filled you in but Reynolds' brother, Jared Reynolds lives down in Olympia. He's a mail carrier so he would have the ability to send packages as well as possibly get address information on just about anyone he wanted. The passport scan I ran is negative. He's never been issued one so if he left the country it was under an assumed name.

Reynolds also has a sister who is a stay at home mom and appears to be squeaky clean. Oh and I also discovered that both his brother and his sister are half siblings. His father must have remarried at some point, given the common last name of him and his brother."

"Ok, so let's assume he's innocent, or that he at least wasn't who did the delivery in Italy. That doesn't mean he hasn't been the one to arrange the local deliveries," Emmett proposed.

"True," Seth added.

"But someone did, so if he didn't then who? Emmett asked.

"There's an easy way to find out," I told them.

"How?" Emmett wanted to know.

"We pay him a visit. Odds are nearly one hundred percent in our favor that all I have to do is ask him if he delivered the apples and I'll know if he's lying or not."

"Then let's go," Seth encouraged us.

Three and a half hours later, we were back in Seattle and back in my office discussing what we had learned.

"So we can scratch the brother off the list," Emmett sighed in frustration.

James' brother had passed with flying colors. Jared Reynolds had been slightly nervous at times, but frankly who wouldn't be if the FBI showed up on their doorstep to question them. Other than that he had been calm and answered every question we asked of him without hesitation. He said he didn't know anything about the apples and seemed to be truly sorry for the turmoil his half-brother was causing me. He claimed to know only what he had heard in the news coverage and read in the papers about his brother's case. And he was telling the truth. There was no doubt in my mind of it.

"But we are still going to keep tabs on him right?" I asked and then added, "He might be innocent now, but his occupation allows him liberties that others wouldn't have. Plus there is no telling if James would try to use him in the future."

"Yes. Everyone connected to him needs to be monitored," Seth told us.

We talked a little more about my ideas on the other agents in our office. Seth snorted and laughed when he saw what I had to say about him. But he understood that I was only doing my job.

After they left, there wasn't much time before Edward was due to be here.

I was going over my notes from the meeting with Jared Reynolds as well as the info in his brother's file about him and their other family members when there was a soft knock on my office door. I knew that Seth and Emmett had left the door open when they left so I didn't bother looking up, figuring whoever it was would just come in.

"You know, you're gorgeous sitting there all deep in thought with your hair tucked behind your ear. It's quite sexy," Edward cooed as he walked into my office.

"You're such a charmer, Mr. Cullen," I replied with a smile I was unable to hold back. "I'll be ready to go in just a minute."

"That's fine. Um, I need to go back by my office for a few when we leave here. I hope that's ok?"

"Um… yeah that's fine," I said as I let out a frustrated sighed.

"Bella I—"

"No. It's ok. I didn't mean that towards you. I'm sorry. I've just had a frustrating day and I was looking forward to going home and soaking in my tub with a glass of wine," I explained as I grabbed the rest of my stuff to take home with me.

"I'd be happy to wash your back for ya." And there was that damn crooked smile of his again_. Damn he was sexy and he knew it too._

I snorted. "In your dreams."

"No, I prefer the real thing," he teased, while winking at me.

"Edward, behave."

"Ok. But if you want to talk about your day, I'm here for you," he offered sincerely.

"Thank you. Not now, maybe later. So why do we have to go back to your work?" I asked as we left my office and made our way down the hall.

"Jasper and I need to finish up some plans for an alarm system that needs to be installed into an extremely large home. The customer is being annoyingly picky on where and how they want things installed, so we are running into a few issues that we need to iron out."

I nodded in understanding and we made our way down to his car after stopping by Emmett's office quickly and letting him know I was leaving.

As we drove to Edward's work, I had to admit that I loved his car. It was pretty awesome as far as cars went. The paint colors, the chrome wheels, everything from the two tone leather seats, to the man that was driving it. It was next to impossible not to notice how damn sexy he looked driving it. It was silly how something so simple as driving could make a man look sexy, but he did. Watching the small twitches and movements of his muscles and facial features as he shifted the gears was almost mesmerizing.

Realizing I was staring at him again, I turned my head and tried to keep my gaze focused on what was outside the car, not in it. He had busted me this morning and I didn't want him to do it again.

I was pulled from my thoughts when he started talking. "So you never answered my question this morning. Remember I asked you about going to my sister's wedding with me? Our conversation got a bit sidetracked earlier and it's coming up soon so I need to know."

"Ok. When is it?"

"The wedding is in a couple of weeks. On the twenty-fourth to be exact and I would love for you to be my date for the wedding. I would very much like for you to go with me."

"Do I really get a choice with all this security detail business? And what about your sister and your family, how will they feel about me being there? Aren't you the best man? Isn't it a bit late to be adding to the guest list and—"

"Woah, slow down for a second, Sweetness. One question at a time," he chuckled.

"Oh, sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for," he said as he reached over and squeezed my hand. The moment his hand was gone from mine, I instantly missed his touch.

"To answer your first question, yes you have a choice. I've spoken to Emmett and he has said that he and his wife are not doing anything that weekend and they would be glad to stay with you or have you over to their house," he explained.

"Ok. But what about your family and so on?"

"My sister is the one who suggested I ask you to come with me. And I am sure by now my parents have heard everything I have told her about you, which means my parents are probably dying to meet you. Alice is very much a social butterfly and that's putting it mildly. She loves to know everything about everyone and she loves to share what she knows. It's near impossible for her to keep a secret."

"So you are asking me because you sister told you to?"

"Yes… no… what I mean is, yes she suggested it. But even when we were in Capri, I had thought about asking you to go with me. It's a weekend trip though. She's getting married in Vancouver. I had planned to ask you. I thought you might enjoy a weekend away with me. I know things are… different right now, so you don't have to feel obligated to go, but I would love to have you there with me."

"I don't know." Part of me wanted to go and a part of me was worried what his parents would think of how we met; it felt a little weird.

"Would you at least think about it?" he asked.

"Yes."

We arrived at his work, he parked the car and we made our way inside.

Edward led me upstairs to his office and gave me the remote to the TV he had in there, pointed out a few magazines on a nearby table and said he'd try to hurry.

I had been flipping through the channels looking for something to watch when there was a soft knock on the door. I turned around and saw a petite raven haired woman standing by the door. I was taken aback by how beautiful she was.

"If you're looking for Edward I think he's in the next office with his partner," I told her, wondering who she was. Was she a client, an old girlfriend? I had no clue, but I was very curious to find out.

"Actually I was on my way to see Jasper," she explained as she walked towards to me. "I'm Alice, Edward's sister. Are you by chance Bella?"

"Yes, I'm Bella, it's nice to meet you," I said as I stood and held my hand out to shake hers. But instead of shaking my hand she pulled me into a hug.

"You must be waiting for Edward."

"Yeah, he had some work to finish up with Jasper. Picky client I think he said."

"Do you mind if I wait here with you? Jasper and I are going out to dinner."

"No not at all."

I sat back down in the chair I had been in before and Alice sat in the matching one next to me. We began chatting about every day events and it wasn't long before she had changed topics and was filling me in on all the details about her wedding. She was stuck in overdrive describing every detail of the event when she all of a sudden stopped and looked at me with a slightly perplexed expression on her face.

"What?" I asked slightly confused by the way she was looking at me.

"Oh, I was just wondering if Edward invited you to the wedding. I was trying to decide whether or not I should say anything in case he hadn't asked you yet."

"Yeah he did. Just today actually."

"Oh good, you're going to come with him right?' she asked giving me a sad puppy dog kind of pout, very similar to the one I had seen Edward use when trying to get his way on something. As I looked at her and tried not to laugh at her pout, I noticed she had the same exact shade of green eyes as Edward did.

"I haven't decided yet," I told her.

"What!" she exclaimed. "Oh, Bella, you have to come. Edward will have a much better time with you there. Besides I thought for sure you'd say yes, so I've already added you to the guest list."

"What am I supposed to do all night? Edward is the best man so won't he be stuck at the table with the wedding party all night?" I asked, because it really was a big concern of mine. Would I be sitting by myself all night or with a bunch of strangers? I'm sure they would all be wonderfully nice people, but I would still feel very much out of place.

"Yes he is the best man and has some official duties he has to perform, but because everyone in the wedding party is either married or has a significant other, Jasper and I have chosen to do things a bit differently."

"How so?" I inquired.

"Instead of having the wedding party at the front table as most people do, we've decided to have one small table in the center for Jasper and I. Then the other tables will be arranged so that the wedding party and their dates will be on one side of us, while our parents and grandparents will be on the other. This way we have those who mean the most to us the closest to us."

"That's very nice of you to do that for your wedding party. Most people only think about what they want on their wedding day."

"It is, but our reason is really simple. We want everyone to have a wonderful time as they celebrate with us and we were worried it might get a bit weird for Edward and Chelsea if they had to sit next to each other all night given their past history."

"What do you mean history? Who is Chelsea?" I asked, suddenly wondering if I shouldn't have, or if I really wanted the answer. But the minute Alice said that maybe she shouldn't tell me, I was past the point of being worried what it was. My curiosity was getting the better of me and I wanted to know. So I encouraged her to tell me.

"Chelsea is Edward's ex-girlfriend," she informed me and then continued, "Things didn't end well with them. They were together for quite a while, about a year and a half I think it was. She was ready to settle down and get married and he wasn't."

"So they broke up?"

"Yeah, she broke up with him. She's one of my best friends and I love her, but she really made me mad then. She thought if she broke up with him, he'd miss her and come to his senses and propose to her," Alice said with a hint of frustration in her voice. Not only was it in her voice, but I could feel how it hurt her, because of what her friend did to her brother.

"Geez, what kind of person does that. I'm sorry I know she's your friend, but really."

"I know. I was very mad at her at the time and she knew it too. I made sure of it. To her credit though, she has grown up a lot since then and is a much better person now."

"How long ago was it?"

"It's been a couple of years. She was the last serious girlfriend Edward had. He's dated a few girls here and there. Jasper and I have tried to fix him up a couple of times. But there's been no one that lasted for longer than a few casual dates. Well until you that is," she confessed and judging by the look on her face she was watching to see what kind of reaction I would have to that kind of information.

It made me wonder if Edward had told her about my gift. She hadn't lied about anything she had said so far, so I would surmise that either he had and she knew that she couldn't lie to me, or she was being completely honest with me. One thing I could tell almost immediately; Alice Cullen could be very manipulative. Not necessarily in a bad way, just that she was very capable of charming people into getting her way. _Hmm the Cullen charm must be a hereditary trait._

I could also see that Edward hadn't been exaggerating when he said his sister liked to know everything about everyone and talk about it. She had been talking nonstop since she got here, making me think that it must be exhausting to be around her all the time. She seemed nice and all, but she was quickly on her way to talking my ear off. _That bath and glass of wine was sounding better and better._

"What makes you think he's serious about me?" I asked. It was a bit awkward to talk about Edward with someone who was so close to him, but at the same time, it was an opportunity to maybe learn more about him. I was also very curious as to what he had told his sister about me. I didn't want to come right out and ask her, because I was pretty certain that anything I said to her about him would get back to him the first chance she had. But that didn't mean I couldn't let her spill whatever details she was willing to.

"Jasper says he's head over heels in love with you. But that's not all. I could see it all over his face when he talked about you. He had a sparkle in his eyes and a look of pure bliss on his face that I have never seen him have before. I have no doubt in my mind that my brother is indeed head over heels for you, Bella."

The way she talked about Edward's feelings for me was quite surprising. It was as if she was excited for him. Like this was some big new thing for him. I found it hard to believe that Edward had never had these types of feelings for another woman before. He was sweet, charming, and insanely gorgeous, not to mention caring and affectionate. The more I thought about it, I was surprised that he had been available when I met him.

My curiosity got the better of me causing me to ask her about it. "The way you talk about his feelings for me, you say it like he's never been in love before. Didn't he love this Chelsea girl, your friend?"

She had a look of surprise on her face like she was shocked that I had asked. After a moment of thought she replied, "No, Bella, he didn't. That was the problem. She was very much in love with him, and while he cared deeply for her, he knew it wasn't love, at least not the kind of forever love you have for someone you want to spend the rest of your life with."

Her words were quite shocking to me. Here she was telling me that the woman her brother had been in a relationship with for over a year, he hadn't loved. But yet he had so easily declared his feelings for me. Not just to me either, to Emmett. Why had he stayed with her so long if he didn't love her and why was it so easy for him to know that what he felt for me was love? All this new information was giving me a headache and left me hoping that Edward would be ready to go soon, or that maybe at the very least Alice was finished talking.

However, it must not have been my lucky day because Alice apparently still had more to say. "So you see, Bella, Edward would have a much better time if you were at the wedding with him. Besides you wouldn't want him to be the only one at the table without a date would you? I promise yo—"

She was cut off by Edward walking into the room and saying, "Promise her what, Mary Alice?" he had a mischievous grin on his face as he walked towards us. "Don't listen to a word she says, Bella. She's an evil little pixie who tries to pull everyone under her dark spell," he teased as he came up behind the chair I was sitting in and placed his hands on my shoulders causing me to shiver slightly.

After a few seconds he removed them and put them on the back of the chair I was sitting in. It almost felt as though he was using his sister's presence as an excuse to touch me. She obviously had no clue about the current stress in our relationship. Maybe if she did she wouldn't have spilled so much about his past girlfriends.

I looked up at him, forcing a smile and said, "She seems perfectly harmless to me. She was just filling me in on all the details of her wedding." She was far from harmless, but I could hardly say that with her sitting right next to me.

"Oh but don't you see, that's all part of the spell. She wants you to believe she's harmless," he chuckled.

"Really, Edward. That may have worked when we were kids. He's the one you need to watch out for, Bella. He'll steal your heart and never give it back," Alice scolded her brother playfully as she got up and made her way around the back of the chair to give him a hug.

She had no idea how true her words were. He had stolen my heart. But I wasn't so sure that I wanted it back.

As I watched them, it was obvious how close they were and how much they cared about each other, even if they were on completely opposite ends of the personality chart. Their closeness reminded me of my relationship with my brother Alec. It would be good to see him this weekend.

As Edward and Alice separated from their hug Alice asked, "Where's Jasper?"

"He'll be out in a few minutes. We figured as soon as you saw Bella in here that this is where you'd be," he said teasing her again. "He tells me you guys are going to the Space Needle for dinner?" he asked walking around to the other side of his desk, where he sat down and began shutting down his computer.

"Yes. Chelsea and Brad are meeting us there. Do you and Bella want to join us?"

Edward's head snapped up in her direction so fast you'd think he'd have a case of whiplash from it. He glared at her and in a deep voice I'd never heard him use before he said, "No."

As I looked back and forth between the two, I could tell by the expression on Alice's face and the wave of guilt I felt coming off her that she felt bad for antagonizing her brother and she wouldn't be pushing the subject.

"I'm sorry," Alice murmured softly to her brother as she sat back down in the chair.

"It's ok," Edward returned and then went back to what he was doing.

A few minutes later, Jasper entered Edward's office. After a quick introduction to Jasper, we all left.

Later as I sat in my bathtub, my talk with Alice kept playing in my mind. Specifically the part about her friend Chelsea being Edward's ex. Images of them dancing together at a wedding, and sitting next to each other were filling my head and I didn't like how it was making me feel. What I liked even less was the knowledge that if Edward had been with this girl for close to two years, he most likely had had sex with her. The thought of any other woman touching him shot through me like a bullet.

It was official; for the first time in my life I was jealous. I had never had a relationship get serious enough or last long enough to have it happen before and I didn't like it. Edward was _mine_. He had told me he was. All I had to do was reach out and take him. So what was I waiting for?

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Got any theories as to who our accomplice might be? I'd love to hear them. Thanks so much for reading, the teaser for chapter eleven will be posted on my blog by Monday morning. There is now also the option to sign up and get them through email alert. Have a great weekend. EA~**


	11. My Last Breath

**Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. I am eternally grateful to My Bella and Hope4more. They are the best. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns the everything except for the story plot. That belongs to me.  
**

_hold on to me love  
you know i can't stay long  
all i wanted to say was, "I love you and I'm not afraid"  
can you hear me?  
can you feel me in your arms?_

_[Chorus:]__  
holding my last breath  
safe inside myself  
are all my thoughts of you  
sweet raptured light it ends here tonight_

_i'll miss the winter  
a world of fragile things  
look for me in the white forest  
hiding in a hollow tree (come find me)  
i know you hear me  
i can taste it in your tears_

_[Chorus]_

_Closing your eyes to disappear,  
You pray your dreams will leave you here;  
But still you wake and know the truth,  
No one is there..._

_Say goodnight,  
Don't be afraid,  
Calling me, Calling me as you fade to black._

_**My Last Breath by Evanescence**_

**~*BPOV*~**

**_July 1, 2010_**

Edward and I had just arrived at my work. It was Thursday and I was really looking forward to the long weekend off. Edward and I had talked more about the trip to Forks this weekend and had decided on leaving early Saturday morning and then we would see how late it was and how tired we were Sunday night before we made the choice to drive back to Seattle then or wait until Monday morning.

Entering the series of offices that made up my department, we were about to knock on Emmett's office door to let him know I was here when Emmett opened the door. "Oh good you're here," he said and he appeared to be somewhat excited over something.

"Just got here. What's up?" I asked, curious to know what had him so fired up this early in the morning.

"We got a tip on a house through the anonymous call line about a half hour ago. Apparently in this house we will find what we need to end this mess." He was buzzing with energy and had me hopeful we had gotten some sort of lead that would help us end this nightmare.

"A house? What did the call say?" Edward asked. His jaw muscles were twitching in anticipation and I could see the gears in his head spinning a hundred miles an hour, much like it had felt the wheels of his car were spinning on the way here. I was amazed we hadn't been pulled over yet due to the high speeds he drove at.

"Let's go into my office and I'll fill you both in," Emmett stated as he turned and motioned for us to follow him. "Bella, you up for some action today?" Emmett asked while sitting down at his desk.

"You bet your ass I am. So what's this tip you got?" I asked with a huge smile. I was eager to do some investigative work out in the field. It had been far too long.

"Just what kind of action are we talking here?" Edward piped in.

"Sit and I'll clue you both in," Emmett commanded pointing at the two chairs in front of us.

He began to talk as Edward and I sat in the two chairs in front of his desk. "According to the call that came in this morning through the anonymous hotline, if we go to this house located out on Old Monroe Lane, we'd find the answers we've been searching for as to who's been sending the apples."

"So we're going right?" I asked eagerly.

"Yeah. How fast can you be ready?" Emmett asked as he grabbed his bullet proof vest and his standard issued FBI jacket to throw over it.

"Give me five to change out of these heels and grab my vest and jacket out of my office," I said popping up out of the chair and starting to head for the door.

"Make it quick, Agent Swan," Emmett urged impatiently.

Just as I reached the door, I turned to Edward and said, "Um, I guess I'll see you later then."

"No, I'm going too," he stated.

"Excuse me?" I asked, walking back towards him. "Emmett, please tell me you aren't going to let him go." I stood there staring at Edward while waiting for Emmett's response. I figured there was no way Emmett would allow a civilian to tag along on official FBI business.

"Here's the way I see it," Edward offered, "if just the two of you are going you need a third person for a lookout if nothing else. You have no idea what you could be walking into. I've dealt with this type of shit when I was in the Army. I've been places and seen things you can't even imagine."

"You really know how to be a pain in the ass, don't you?" I snapped at him.

He smiled that cute ass grin of his and then retorted, "You can choose to look at it however you please, but in my opinion I am simply doing everything in my power to keep you safe. If that makes me a pain in your ass or a thorn in your side then so be it."

"Alright Bonnie and Clyde, enough with the theatrics," Emmett bellowed. "We've got a job to do. Bella, another pair of eyes or set of hands can't hurt anything. I would prefer to have Seth with us, but he is out of the office this morning so that's not possible. Now go get your shit, Bella, so we can go."

Ten minutes later I was back in Emmett's office ready to go. Since Edward was going with us, Emmett tossed him one of our FBI jackets along with a bullet proof vest.

Looking over at Edward putting them on, I shook my head in annoyance and said, "This is really ridiculous, Emmett. Protecting me in my home is one thing, but this is official business we are going to do. What are you going to do if he gets hurt? How are you going to explain that?" I spat.

Edward walked over and stood in front of me. After taking my hand and placing a kiss on it, he locked eyes with me and said in a cocky tone, "I love that you're looking out for me, Sweetness, but I'm a big boy and can take care of myself. And thanks for proving me right-you do still care about me."

"Yeah well I'm a trained FBI agent and I can take care of myself too, but I don't see you two jackasses giving two shits about that."

Edward reached out for my hand again, but I jerked it away and folded my arms across my chest. I was pissed. It irritated me to no end that he was treating me as a less than trained individual. I had the diplomas that stated I was more than qualified to do my job and I did it well.

"Bella, I'm not the one with a madman out to get me," he replied trying to plead his case.

"No, you don't think so? Well let me clue you in. You are what is standing between him and me, my line of protection, Edward, so your ass is just as much on the line as mine is."

"Bella, Edward, enough of this shit. The two of you said you could keep your personal feelings out of this, so shut the hell up, we don't have time for this. Save it for when you're alone. Now let's go. I'm driving so the two of you need to get your asses downstairs and in my suburban now."

I turned from where I stood facing Edward. Glaring at Emmett I said, "Fine, Special Agent McCarty, you're in charge so it's your ass not mine. You can explain in court how you had a civilian with you on official business and you can explain to Rose when you don't have job anymore, when your career is ruined."

"Damn it, Bella," Emmett growled. "Edward, come here," Emmett ordered as he reached in his desk and pulled out a bible. For the life of me I couldn't figure out what the hell he was going to do.

"I was given permission to do this only if the situation were to become necessary and it appears it now has. So welcome to the FBI, Edward. Now raise your right hand and place your left one on the bible and repeat after me."

"What the hell, Emmett. You're swearing him in?" I huffed raising my hands and letting them fall making a smacking sound on the sides of my legs.

"Yes, Bella, I am. When I went to my boss with the news that Edward was going to keep protecting you, he gave me permission to swear him in since he was privy to classified information. He's been thrust smack dab in the middle of this investigation. Edward is with you damn near twenty-four/seven while protecting you and because of that he could have to apprehend someone, shoot someone and the possibility exists that he may discover important evidence. We don't want anyone cut loose or any evidence to be thrown out because it was considered to be obtained wrongfully."

There wasn't a whole lot I could say to that. Emmett had covered all his bases. I stood there hardly believing what I was seeing as I watched Edward being sworn in.

"Now repeat after me. I, Edward Anthony Cullen…"

As we left Emmett's office, Jake was standing there as if he had been waiting for us.

"You need something, Black?" Emmett asked.

"Yeah, I overheard you telling them you got a lead on Bella's case and I wanted to say I'm ready to assist you guys."

"You standing outside my office eavesdropping?" Emmett accused.

"No. I heard you before you went in your office and I know that Seth is out this morning and he's been working with you so I am just trying to be helpful. If you're going to case a house you need more than just the two of you," he explained.

"Three of us," Edward corrected.

"Who the hell are you?" Jake asked.

"I don't see where that's any of your concern," Edward retorted.

"Jake, I don't think it's necessary for you to come with us," I added. There was no way I wanted him along too.

"You're going to case a house with only two agents and a… whatever he is," Jake said nodding at Edward, causing Edward to quirk an eyebrow at him as if he were challenging him to say the wrong thing. "You know you should have more agents with you. You have no idea the size of this place or what you will find when you get there, or who you might find when you get there. The way I see it the more you have the better off you are."

Jake was right and Emmett knew it. But I had no clue how Emmett would handle discouraging him without tipping him off to the fact that he could be a possible suspect.

"Fuck," Emmett muttered. "Are you ready to go 'cause I don't have time to wait for your ass? I've already had enough delay caused by these two," Emmett said motioning towards Edward and me.

"Yes."

"Then let's go. Change in plans, kids. Bella, you ride with Edward. Jake, you're with me in my suburban."

"Oh this just keeps getting better and better all the time," I mumbled as we headed to the elevators.

On the way down, I found myself standing in between Jake and Edward. Remembering my last encounter with Jake just before I had left, I moved to place Edward between Jake and me.

As soon as I moved I saw Jake smirking as he raised his arm and sniffed his armpit like some kind of idiot. "Do I stink or something, Bella?" Jake asked.

"No," I answered coldly and turned my head to stare at the floor indicator buttons, leaning against Edward in the process. As if sensing my unease, Edward draped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. I knew I might be sending Edward mixed signals, but Jake creeped me out. He always had.

Once we got to Edward's car he opened the door for me. I slid into the passenger seat and buckled my seat belt while letting out a sigh of relief to be away from Black even if it were just until we reached the house.

As Edward pulled out on to the street following Emmett's suburban, he asked, "What's up between you and that Jake guy?"

"He's a jackass."

"What makes him one? Do you two just not get along? What's the deal? You acted as if you couldn't stand to be around him, Bella," he prodded as he changed lanes and sped up to get on the highway.

"I can't stand him."

"Can you elaborate a little?"

"He's like a fucking dog in heat every time he's around me. Jake's been hounding me to go out with him since the day I began working here. For three years I have been putting up with his never ending advances and innuendos. He's never taken no for an answer. Just keeps trying to wear me down I guess. I probably should have turned him in for sexual harassment a long time ago."

"Has he been doing this since you've been back?" he asked and I could see the where he was going with this. He was about to go all Possessive Edward on me again. _You're mine, _his words from last Saturday echoed through my mind.

"I haven't had any issues with him asking me out since we've come back from Capri, but Tuesday he had the balls to tell me I looked like shit. I can't stand the guy. He makes me want to vomit."

"He told you _what_?" Edward practically growled.

"In his opinion I should have come back to work looking well rested and been bouncing with energy. Apparently I didn't measure up to his vision. I don't really give a rat's ass what he thinks of my appearance as long as he got the message during our last encounter that I wasn't going to date him. As long as the asking me out shit stops I can deal with the rest." And I could. Dealing with him being a smart-assed jerk was nothing compared to constantly fighting off his advances.

"Your last encounter? What happened then?" Edward asked.

I went on and explained to him how Jake had cornered me in the elevator and what I did to him. Judging by the look of pure hatred on Edward's face and the veins bulging at his temples along with the death grip he had on the steering wheel, I think if Edward could have gotten his hands on Jake right then... well… Jake might have a hard time walking away once Edward was finished with him.

About a half hour later, we exited the highway and drove until we were in a rural area. Soon we were going through a series of back roads that led us to a long driveway entrance sitting at the bottom of a hill.

Edward made the turn, following Emmett's vehicle up the dirt driveway until we were both parked in front of a large wood-frame, Victorian style home. I took my hair band off my wrist and pulled my hair back. I then reached into my purse and grabbed my gun and placed it in my holster.

Edward handed me his keys and asked me to unlock the glove box and get his gun out for him. I did and then we both got out of the car and walked over to where Jake and Emmett were standing.

"Jake, check the perimeter and then come inside and get the basement. It looks like it's got a third floor or an attic, I'll get that. Edward, you take the ground floor, Bella, you take the second."

We all nodded and as Jake began his walk around the outside of the house, the rest of us headed up the porch steps to the front door.

Emmett turned the knob and it clicked instantly causing the door to start to open. Emmett held on to the door as he opened it very slowly and cautiously.

Quickly glancing over his shoulder at us, he warned, "I don't like the fact that this door is unlocked. Keep your eyes open for traps."

Emmett slowly entered and we followed; all of us with our weapons out and ready to shoot if necessary.

As we entered the house, it smelled stale and musty like it had been closed up for years and there was a light coating of dust on the floor. Otherwise the house was completely empty from what we could see so far as we looked around the entryway.

Emmett nodded for Edward to go search the first floor and then for me to follow him up the stairs. Just before I took the first step, Edward grabbed my hand and whispered, "Be careful."

"I will," I whispered back. I couldn't explain why, but I suddenly found myself fighting the urge to tell him I loved him.

Despite our best efforts to take the stairs quietly, it was lost on the fact that the worn wooden stairs creaked and moaned with nearly every step we took.

Once we reached the second floor landing, Emmett continued on up to the third as I made my way down the hall to the first room. The hall was lined with several doors. The first door was standing wide open and the bright morning sun was pouring through the tall windows fully lighting the room.

Entering the space, I first checked behind the door. Nothing. There was a small door which I assumed was a closet. I slowly opened it and saw it was as empty as the room. Nothing to see here so I went on to the next.

The next door I opened was a small bathroom that was barely big enough for the claw foot tub that was in it. I could hear Emmett's heavy footsteps above me and from the sound of things he was moving pretty smoothly from room to room.

I made my way back and forth, up and down the hall checking each room, closet, nook and cranny until I came to the room at the end. I was frustrated that I hadn't found anything and since I hadn't heard from anyone else, I was assuming they hadn't either.

Opening the door, I saw that this room was much larger than the last. The carpet in this room was in sad need of replacement. The color was so faded it was impossible to tell what it had been originally and there were even a few holes here and there. The only reason I noticed the carpet right away because the other rooms had hard wood floors that had appeared to have been refinished at some point. _Maybe they hadn't gotten to redoing this room yet,_ I thought.

I walked across the room and peered out the large window facing the side of the house. Glancing sideways, I saw the cars parked in the driveway and the huge front yard, and in the opposite direction was the back yard which was surrounded by a wooded area.

This bedroom must have been the master as it had an adjoining bathroom and dressing room. Walking through the dressing area into the bathroom, I noticed it was bigger than the one off the hall and the tub had been modified with a shower. Exiting the bathroom I noticed a closet door that was partially open in the corner of the dressing area. The closet was fairly deep, small for a walk-in but bigger than your average closet. It was pretty dark and hard to see into the closet since there was only a very small window in the bathroom and none in the dressing area.

Flipping the switch on the wall by the entrance did me no good. Either the light was burnt out or there was no power on in the house. It was then I wished I had remembered my flashlight. I could see a few boxes on the floor near the back wall. Wanting to see what was inside, hoping that maybe this was where the clue was hidden, I stepped inside the closet. As I took my second step I noticed the floor seemed to give a bit, almost as if there was something under the carpet. The door suddenly slammed shut behind me while a puff of air hit my face. I was instantly coughing as I reached up to pull my blouse over my mouth, realizing it was some kind of gas. In the few seconds it took me to turn around and start banging on the door, my lungs were burning from the coughing as I continued trying to pull in air, but all I got was the gas and my head felt light and my vision was getting blurry. I was trying to keep banging on the door, but my arm was feeling heavier and heavier and it was getting harder to raise it. I began to struggle to hold myself upright and was leaning on the door. I tried to bang one last time, but all I was doing was slumping to the floor.

**~*EPOV*~**

I had been searching the first floor when I heard a door open and close near the front of the house. Raising my gun and as quietly as I could, I made my way up there. As I rounded the corner of the hall I saw that it was Jake who had come into the house.

He looked over at me and asked, "Find anything yet?"

"No," I answered as I lowered my weapon. I wouldn't have told him if I had. As far as I was concerned he had no business knowing any of the details concerning anything we might find unless he was the one to do it. No one did unless I was given instruction to do so by Emmett.

"Anything from Emmett or Bella yet?"

"No. Anything outside?"

"Nope. I'm going to head to the basement then so we can wrap this party up," he remarked in a sarcastic tone.

I nodded and started to walk away. I hadn't taken more than a step or two when I heard several loud thuds and Jake spewing curse words coming up from the basement. I turned around and headed towards the basement door. Pulling it open I found him hunched over at the bottom of the steps clutching his ankle.

Looking up at me he called, "Watch your step, there's some kind of rope or string strung across one of the steps. I caught my foot on it and well… here I am," he groaned.

"So I see. Can you get up? Or do you need help?" I asked him.

What I really wanted to say was _you can sit your ass there until Emmett comes to get ya._ I was still pissed over what Bella had told me about Jake in the car. I would have done a lot more than knee the prick in the balls if I had been around when he had cornered her in the elevator. He had better hope I never caught him pulling any shit with her or his ass would regret it.

I made my way down the stairs using my cellphone as a light to see where I was going.

Once I reached Jake, I helped him stand while leaning on me and soon realized that there was no way I was going to get him up the steps. I was over six feet tall and he was taller than me. That combined with him being unable to put any weight at all whatsoever on his left foot, and there being a trip wire on the steps, I wasn't taking any chances of sending us both tumbling back down the stairs.

I helped him sit in a more comfortable position on the steps and made my way back up to the first floor to see if Emmett or Bella had come back down yet.

Looking around a bit I didn't see or hear either one of them so I called Emmett's cellphone after calling down to Jake and letting him know what I was doing.

"Edward, you find something?" Emmett asked anxiously.

"Yeah. Your agent at the bottom of the basement stairs with an injured foot."

"Jake?" he asked sounding surprised.

"That's the one," I replied.

"Damn it," he muttered. "I'll be right there."

I heard Emmett coming down the stairs a few seconds later and looked up to see if Bella was with him. She wasn't.

"Hey, where is he?" Emmett asked as he came down the last few steps.

"He's sitting on the bottom of the basement stairs. There's a trip line that someone set up close to the top," I said as I relayed the information.

"Ok, I've already called the paramedics and they're on their way. Has Bella come back down yet?"

"No. Did you find anything?" I asked, thinking it had been I while since I had heard any of Bella's footsteps overhead. I didn't like that. I had been able to hear her footsteps as she walked across the old wooden floors most of the time she was up there.

"No, nothing. You?"

"Same here, not a damn thing."

"Then I am going to go check on Jake and then wait out front for the ambulance. You go up and see if Bella has come up with anything," he ordered.

"Sure," I answered as I took off up the stairs taking them two at a time.

I got to the second floor and peaked into a couple of rooms and there was no sign of Bella. This struck me as extremely odd since if she were searching the rooms, we should have bumped into each other in the hall at this point. My thoughts instantly went to the trip wire that caused Jake to fall. I became concerned that there may have been some other trap rigged up here as well.

"Bella!" I called out and waited to get a reply from her.

Nothing. Not a sound, a footstep, nothing. My heart started beating frantically in my chest with worry. I tore through a couple more rooms, checking bathrooms, hall closets and everything. There was still no sign of her. My adrenaline was in overdrive and I was starting to sweat by the time I reached the last room at the end of the hall.

"Bella!" I screamed over and over. "Damn it, Bella, if you can hear me, answer me."

As I entered the last room, I could feel the hair on the back of my neck standing on end. She was in here somewhere, I could sense it. But where? Scanning the room around me I saw another small room. Taking wide brisk steps towards it I saw a small dressing room with an attached bathroom.

I checked the bathroom and no sign of her there. Going back into the dressing area was when I noticed a closed closet door. I had missed it the first time heading into the bathroom due to the room being so dark. _Had she accidently locked herself in a closet and couldn't get out? _

I tried the knob and it was locked or somehow jammed. "Bella, are you in there?" I asked as I beat on the door.

"Fuck," I yelled as I yanked on the door as hard as I could trying to force it open but having no luck. The damn door knob wouldn't even turn. It was as if it was jammed in place.

"Bella!" I yelled again hoping that she'd hear me and respond.

My next thought was to shoot the fucking lock off the door, but knowing the bullet could hit Bella if she were in there ruled that out as an option.

I dug my cellphone out of my pocket and called downstairs to Emmett.

As soon as he answered I bellowed into the phone, "Emmett, I need your help. Get up here now!"

"What the hell is going on Edward?" he exclaimed. I could hear him climbing the stairs as he did. "I'm on the second floor, where are you?"

"The last room at the end of the hall."

Emmett entered the dressing area breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath from running up the stairs.

"Where's Bella?" he asked as his chest heaved.

"She's nowhere in any of these rooms. I checked every room and this closet is the only place left. The door's locked and I can't get it open."

"You think she's in there?"

"I know she is, Emmett. I can't explain to you how, call it gut instinct or whatever, but she's in there and something is very wrong, I can feel it," I said trying not to panic.

Emmett took his turn trying to pull the door open but he didn't have any more luck than I did. Frustrated and eager to get the door open to see if Bella was indeed trapped inside, Emmett looked at me and said, "Stand back."

"What are you going to do? If she's in there the bullet could hit her."

"Not if I shoot the hinges from an angle out here. They will either ricochet out this way or imbed in the door frame. So back the hell up," he ordered.

I backed up several feet as Emmett did also until he was standing far enough away to hopefully avoid the bullet bouncing back at him. Raising his gun, he held it aimed for the area right next to the door hinges.

As he fired off the shots, the wood surrounding the hinges shattered. I pulled the door but it was still jammed in place.

"We need something to pry it out with," he said as he began looking around the area.

I went into the bathroom to see if there was anything in there to use. I knew I had found what we needed when I saw a metal towel bar screwed to the wall. It didn't take much to rip the thing from the old plaster walls.

"Here," I said as I handed the bar to Emmett.

He took the piece of metal from me and after a few minutes of wedging it under the bottom of the door we were finally able to pry the door from the frame.

And there was Bella slumped where she appeared to have passed out right next to the door. I felt my chest ache as I took in her lifeless form.

Entering the closet we both began to cough and choke from what I assumed was fumes from some kind of gas. I knelt beside Bella to check for a pulse. She had one but it was weak.

"Let's get her out of here," I rasped, having a hard time breathing due to the high levels of gas remaining in the small area.

Wanting to get her into clean air as fast as I could, I picked her up and carried her out to the bedroom. Emmett followed right behind me.

I laid her down and immediately began talking to her calling her name and asking her to wake up. "Hurry she's barely breathing," I hollered as Emmett took off running downstairs to get the EMT's attending to Jake. _Come on, Bella, stay with me, Sweetness, help is on the way._

It took all I had to not lose control over my emotions as I waited for Emmett to get back with help. I prayed repeatedly over and over in my head asking God not to take her from me now. To let her be ok, that it was too soon for me to lose her. I had just found her and we still had so much life to live.

It felt like forever but I was sure it had only been a matter of minutes before Emmett was back in the room with two EMTs hot on his heels.

As the EMTs entered the room they ordered me to back away while they immediately began hooking her up to oxygen and doing what they needed to stabilize her for transport to the hospital. I turned to Emmett and told him, "I'm going with her."

"I figured you would. I've got to hang here and wait for Seth to get here. He's bringing a few uniformed officers with him to make sure the house stays secure so no evidence gets tampered with. This feels like a set up to me," Emmett said, rubbing his eyes trying to relieve the irritation from the gas.

"To get Bella?" I asked, coughing again as my lungs tried to clear themselves out.

He nodded. But I already knew in my head that his answer was going to be yes. It was all too convenient. Anonymous tip that led to a booby trapped house. Reynolds and his goons either wanted to scare the shit out of Bella, or incapacitate her long enough to take her.

I wasn't a betting man, but if I did I'd bet on the latter of the two. And the thought of anyone associated with that monster getting their hands on Bella scared me more than anything ever had before.

Once Bella was hooked up to an IV and oxygen mask, they strapped her to a medic board to carry her down the stairs. It ripped me apart to see her so frail and weak looking. She was normally so full of life and energy and it killed me to see her in her current state.

Emmett and I followed the EMTs with Bella down to the ambulance. They had called a second one to take Jake since Bella was in greater need to go first.

I was allowed to sit in the back of the ambulance for the ride to the hospital when I had a second coughing attack while waiting for them to load Bella in.

Once we were on our way the paramedic checked me out and said I'd probably suffer some irritation of my eyes and lungs for a couple of hours, but since my exposure was minimal it shouldn't last beyond that. However even though I wasn't exposed to the gas for long, due to the coughing fit he witnessed me having, he insisted I wear an oxygen mask for the short trip to the hospital. I didn't want to at first, but once the mask was on me the irritation I felt in my chest began to disappear. It made me cringe to think about how irritated Bella's lungs must be after having been exposed to that shit for a much longer period of time.

This led me to question him about Bella. She looked so lifeless as she laid on the gurney. If it weren't for the oxygen level monitor and other devices they had hooked up to her, it would be hard to tell she was alive.

The paramedic said that her side effects were going to linger for a few days and would be much more severe and that the ER doc would fill me in more thoroughly after they examined her.

We pulled into the ambulance bay of the hospital and after they unloaded Bella, they took her back to be examined immediately. I was asked to give the admission attendant Bella's registration information.

I gave the girl as much information about Bella as I could. Once she had taken all the information, she instructed me to have a seat in the waiting area and they'd take me back to be with Bella just as soon as they could.

As I waited to get an update, I realized that my car was still at the house. I called Emmett to get the exact address of the house and let him know that I was going to be having someone, most likely Jasper, pick it up. He said he'd inform the officers there and it wouldn't be a problem.

I then called Alice and asked her to go by my loft and get my extra set of keys and change of clothes for me and take them to Jasper at our office. I wasn't leaving this hospital until Bella did.

Next I called Jasper and filled him in on the situation and he said that he'd have Mike run him out to get my car and drop it off here at the hospital for me.

I found myself unable to sit still while I waited. I paced back and forth across the waiting room floor as my mind raced with worry over Bella. She had turned my life upside down since the moment I met her, but I didn't regret one minute of it. In such a short span of time, my world had come to revolve around her.

I noticed I was starting to receive irritated looks from the other people in the small space so I forced myself to sit.

I tried closing my eyes, but all I could see was Bella's limp form lying on the floor of that closet.

Frustrated, I leaned forward and cradled my head in my hands as my elbows rested on my knees.

I had been sitting like that for a few minutes when I heard a male voice call, "Mr. Cullen?"

Glancing up I saw a doctor standing at the entrance to the room. I stood up and walked over to him.

"Edward Cullen?" he asked.

"Yes sir," I answered and held my hand out to shake his.

"Dr. Warner," he introduced himself as we shook hands.

"How's Bella?" I wasted no time asking.

"Come take a walk with me and I'll fill you in on Miss Swan's condition," he said. He pointed out which direction to go and pushed the large button on the wall causing both doors leading to ER area to open.

We passed three or four exams rooms before he stopped and held open a door and motioned for me to enter.

Entering the room the first thing I saw was my girl lying in the hospital bed with several monitors hooked up to her.

I looked over at the doctor and asked, "She's still unconscious?"

"Yes she is and it's likely she will be for a few more hours. It usually takes somewhere in the area of four to six hours for the effects of the gas to wear off. And even when she does wake up she is going to be very groggy for a while."

"But she will make a full recovery right," I asked praying he gave me the answer I wanted.

"Yes. It will take her a few days for the effects to completely wear off, but after that she should be fine."

"What kind of effects will she have?"

"Well for starters, as I explained she will be out of it for a few more hours. When she wakes up she is going to have a pretty severe headache. Her eyes will be irritated and that along with her headache should gradually degrease in intensity by tomorrow until it's completely gone," he explained.

"Ok, what else?"

"Her lungs and voice will take a few days. But after that she shouldn't have any lingering after effects."

"How long will she have to stay here?" was my next question as I walked over and sat on the chair next to her bed and took her hand in mine. It was a bittersweet feeling to be able to touch her and hold her hand, but to be doing it while she was in this condition.

"We will definitely be keeping her overnight for observation. All her vital signs are stable and her respiration is much better than it was when she first arrived. So as long as she continues to improve and there are no concerning or unexpected symptoms in the morning, we will release her. However she will need to take it easy for a couple of days. She's going to have some minor side effects that will keep her a little disjointed for a day or two."

I nodded. Dr. Warner then checked the readings on her heart monitor as well as the pulse oximeter and made a few notes in her chart. Afterwards he excused himself to go check on having her moved up to a regular room.

I sat there watching the love of my life sleep. She had gotten a touch of her skin color back. Her lips no longer had a bluish tint to them and her breathing was steadier than it had been before. I ran my fingers through her hair and let out a strangled sigh as I battled with my emotions once again.

"Oh, Sweetness," I whispered as leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "What have I done? I promised you I would keep you safe and not let anyone or anything hurt you and look at you now."

"That's one way to get her pissed off at you again," I heard the booming voice of Emmett and looked up to see him standing in the doorway to Bella's room.

I just stared at him not really knowing what to say. He walked over and sat in the chair next to mine.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Good from what the doc said, although she will be out of it for a while still," I replied and then went on to fill him on everything the doctor had told me about her recovery.

"You know she's already going to be pissed this happened when she wakes up. Don't let her catch you going all emo on her like you were earlier. I know it's your job to protect her right now, but what happened today is part of her job. It's also something that none of us could have known about or prevented," Emmett said like he had been through this a million times.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it though," I retorted.

"No, Edward, you don't. I don't fucking like it. When you take on a job like Bella and I have, there is always going to be a certain amount of risk and even danger involved. Not all the cases we investigate involve psycho pricks like Reynolds. But one thing I can tell you is that this will certainly not be the last time Bella gets hurt in the line of duty. So if you are serious about being with her, it's something you are going to have to come to terms with and accept."

"I know."

"Do you? Are you sure about that?" he chided.

"I know it in my head anyways. My heart…well…that might take a little longer to get the message."

"Can I ask how things are going between the two of you?" he asked changing his whole demeanor like someone had flipped a switch; he went from boss mode to caring friend mode.

I chuckled at him causing him to then ask, "What's so funny?"

'Pumping me for info, old buddy, 'cause Bella won't spill any details to you?"

"Sue me," he laughed. "I only asked because I care about Bella."

"Yes, we're getting along better. Well at least until she got pissed about you letting me come along this morning," I said tugging at my hair for what must have been the millionth time since finding Bella in the closet. It was a wonder I had any left.

He chuckled again, "Yeah she wasn't too happy about that was she?" He stood up and walked over, stopping in front of the only window in the room. After bending a few of the blinds so he could peak between them, he turned around and leaned against the window sill. Lowering his head and scratching the back of it he said, "Just don't give up on her ok. She's barely dated in the three years I've known her much less had a man inserted in her life at the level you have been recently. It's a huge adjustment for her and I really believe if you just give her time to sort things out she'll come around. I wou—"

Emmett was cut off by the sound of someone knocking on the door. He took a few long strides to cross the distance from where he was standing to reach the door and pull it open.

I instantly recognized the tinkling voice of my sister informing him that she was looking for Edward Cullen. Emmett let her in and standing behind her where she couldn't see, I saw him raise his eyebrow and nod at my sister as if he were asking me who the hell she was as she stood on her tip toes and planted a quick kiss on my cheek and give me a hug.

I shook my head and fought the urge to laugh at Emmett's reaction. He obviously didn't remember my sister. In his defense it had been quite a while since he had last seen her. Alice, being a year older than Bella, was only a freshman in high school when Emmett and I graduated.

"Emmett, it's been a while. Let me reintroduce you to my sister Alice," I said as Alice turned to face him.

"This," he said pointing to her, "is little Alice?" The surprise and maybe a touch of embarrassment were evident in his voice.

"Emmett? Emmett McCarty?" Alice asked.

"Yup, it's me," he said popping the "p" as he did. "You obviously have a much better memory than I do. Of course you were a lot different last time I saw ya. What the heck happened to your hair?" he asked remembering the waist length hair she had back then as he noticed the short spikey style she wore it in now.

"Oh I got tired of it. It's so much easier to take care of it this way," Alice told him.

"If you say so. I don't know what I'd do if Rose wanted to cut her hair off. Look it was great to see you again, but I really need to be going," he said to Alice before turning his gaze on me. "Edward, let me know if there is anything Bella needs. I am going to head back over to the house and help Seth finish things up."

"Ok, I'll be here as long as she is," I told him.

"I had a feeling you might be. Talk to ya later man."

"Later."

"Alice, it was good to see you again," Emmett said waving to us both as he left.

"So how is she?" my sister asked the second Emmett was out the door.

"She'll be ok."

"Good. You must have been scared," she said.

"Yeah I was," I muttered, my gaze once again focused on where Bella lie sleeping.

"I'm glad she'll be ok. Um… I really have to go too. Jazz and I are having a late lunch with his parents. Your car is here and I brought what you asked for. Oh and I also brought something for Bella. I figured she would need something to wear home once she was released. I took a guess at her size so I hope what I brought fits."

"Thanks, Alice. I really appreciate that and I'm sure Bella will too," I said giving her another hug. She really was a great sister even if she did annoy the shit out of me half the time.

"It was no problem. I was at the mall when you called so it was no big deal to grab her something."

"Well thanks again. Now get out of here. Go have lunch," I said turning her around and nudging her towards the door.

"Want us to bring you anything later?" she asked reaching for the door knob.

"No. If I get hungry later, I'll grab something from the cafeteria."

"Ok, well give us a call if you change your mind."

With Alice gone, the room was once again quiet aside from the sounds coming from the machines monitoring Bella. Watching her sleep I wanted so badly to lie next to her and hold her in my arms. Not knowing how she'd react waking up to find me in bed with her, I settled for lacing my fingers through hers and resting my head on the side of her bed. I closed my eyes and hoped that the time it took for her to wake up and let me see those gorgeous brown eyes of hers passed quickly so I would know that she was really ok.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Let me know what ya think. The teaser for chapter 12 will be on the blog Monday morning. Thanks for reading, EA~**


	12. Used To

**Hey, its that time of the week again. I hope you are all as excited as I am . Of course I owe a huge thank you to Hope4more and My-Bella for all their help. But I also want to take a minute to thank all of you. First, you guys leave me some of the most amazing reviews, I love hearing about all of your thoughts and theories about who you think is the bad guy. And even if you want to punch Bella because she is still pushing Edward away. It's seems that every day this story is being added to more and more readers' alert and favorites list and it just thrills me to no end. So thank you for making time for my little story.  
**

**And last but not least I need to thank Alicetheannoyinglittlepixie for her expert fashion advice and help with all of the Polyvore sets that have been created for this fic. The link to view the Polyvore sets is on my profile page and my blog. **

**Stephine Meyer still owns it all. Let's see if Bella is ready to wake up.  
**

_I look around me,  
And I want you to be there  
'Cause I miss the things that we shared.  
Look around you  
It's empty, and you're sad  
'Cause you miss the love that we had._

_You used to talk to me like  
I was the only one around,  
The only one around._

_We used to have this figured out;  
We used to breathe without a doubt.  
When nights were clear, you were the first star that I'd see.  
We used to have this under control.  
We never thought.  
We used to know.  
At least there's you, and at least there's me.  
Can we get this back?  
Can we get this back to how it used to be? Yeah.  
To how it used to be.  
To how it used to be, yeah.  
To how it used to be.  
To how it used to be._

_**Used To by Daughtry**_

**_July 1, 2010, continued_**

**~*BPOV*~**

Every time I tried to move, my body ached as if I had been lying in the same position entirely too long. My head was pounding and upon opening my eyes, the room was a bit blurry. I blinked my eyes a few times and that helped to clear my vision. As I woke up a bit more what had happened began to come back to me; the house, the closet, the gas, all of it. The only thing that was unclear was how I had gotten out of the closet. My best guess would be that Emmett or Edward had somehow found me. I looked around the room I was in and realized I was in the hospital, but had no clue as to what time it was or how long I had been here. I could see through the small spaces between the blinds on the window that it was still light outside but that was all I could tell.

Wanting to find a more comfortable position, I started to raise my right hand, but it was being held down as if something was pinning it there. Turning my head to see why I couldn't lift it I noticed Edward was asleep with his head resting on my arm. He must have been there for a while as my arm was feeling slightly numb and had that prickly feeling from being "asleep" as it was called. I began to wiggle my fingers to increase the circulation in my arm. As the prickly feeling went away, I realized Edward's fingers were twined with mine.

Taking in his sleeping form, I noticed his face didn't have that peaceful look to it that I remembered from our last morning in Capri. His expression was closer to one full of pain or regret and that's when it dawned on me that it must be from his concern over me.

I wanted to reach out and touch his face. To erase the deep lines of worry, feel the contrast between his soft skin and rough stubble under my fingertips and soothe his fears. But the IV tubing and wire from some other device that was clipped to my fingertip wouldn't allow me to reach that far.

Slowly tugging on my arm, I was eventually able to get it out from underneath him. He must have been really tired as he hardly stirred when his head slid to the bed once my arm was gone from under it. After letting my fingers softly graze over the light stubble that had formed along his jaw, they traveled to his hair as if they had a mind of their own.

It had been far too long since I had touched him like this. At first I simply brushed back the stray locks that had fallen over his forehead in his sleep. But soon my fingers were running through the tousled strands of his hair. I combed my fingers through the thick mass until it fell from my fingertips as they reached the ends of the short auburn hued tresses, only to dig back in to do it all over again. Doing so I realized how much I missed it. It had such a soothing and calming effect on me. While we were together on Capri, I had found it hard to keep my hands out of his hair. The buzz of energy from the constant source of chemistry that flowed between us was still there; I could feel it coursing through my fingertips and shooting up my arm.

Noticing a slight increase in his breathing, I suspected that maybe he was awake and enjoying what I was doing as much as I was. After a few more minutes and what I was sure was a soft sigh escaping his lips, I was certain he was awake. _Perhaps he has missed this too, _I thought.

"Edward," I whispered. My throat was dry and irritated from the effects of the gas causing my voice to be deep and raspy.

A soft smile played on his lips as he sat up and rubbed his eyes. His smile widened as he reached up and cupped the side of my face and caressed my cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"Sweetness, you're awake," he murmured while letting out what sounded like a huge sigh of relief.

"Yeah but I feel like I'm still half asleep." I laughed lightly but then grabbed at my head when the movement from laughing caused my head to hurt more.

Noticing what I had done, his expression turned from one of relief to concern as he asked, "Is your head hurting?"

"Yeah, it seems to be a dull throb unless I move too much."

"The doctor said that it should feel better by morning."

"You talked to my doctor?"

"Yes, in fact I need to let the nurse know that you're awake."

"Um, how long have I been here?" I asked, trying to scoot myself in more of a sitting position.

He glanced down at his watch and said, "Well we've been here at the hospital since just before noon, it's nearly four thirty now.

"I've been asleep the whole time?" I asked.

"Yeah, since we found you unconscious in the closet," he said. Looking up at me, I was afraid he could see right through me; see the fear I was feeling at the realization that this was no accident.

I knew I was right when he asked, "Bella, what's wrong? You can tell me anything so please tell me what's wrong."

This was so hard for me. I had thought that Edward and Emmett had been overdramatizing this whole situation a bit, but now…now knew I had been so wrong.

"It's just…" I was having a hard time finding the right words to use.

"Just what, Sweetness?" he asked and the emotion and love in his voice were so warm and reassuring as he encouraged me to open up to him.

Looking up at him our eyes locked again. Letting out a sigh, I knew I had to do this. "This was no accident was it?" It was harder to say it out loud than I thought it would be.

"No. It wasn't. Even if the door shutting could somehow be ruled as a fluke, which it can't, but if it could, the presence of the knockout gas erases any doubt about it being an accident," he explained to me.

I nodded as I mulled over what he had said. As if he could sense that I had more on my mind than what I had said he asked, "So what else is bothering you? I can see it in your eyes, Bella, so don't even try to hide it from me."

For a minute he had me wondering just which one of us was the empath. He was able to read me so well right now.

Knowing he wouldn't let it go until I told him, I went ahead and got it out of the way. "I guess it's the fact that Reynolds tried to hurt me. Well… that is if the trap was meant for me, but I don't know who else it could have been for. He's had this sick obsession with me, but I figured he just wanted to mess with my head for getting into his, you know spook me, give me a taste of my own medicine, but I never imagined he'd actually try to hurt me."

I sat there waiting for the "I told you so" to come, but it never did, although I could see the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought to keep from smiling. I then realized how grateful I was that Emmett and Edward had insisted on Edward protecting me. I didn't want to think about what might have happened if it had been just Emmett and I at that house. However my emotions betrayed me and I felt the tears threatening to spill over.

Edward saw it too. I knew then that he could see the fear in my eyes. He was instantly up and pulling me in his arms as he sat on the edge of my bed. It felt so good to be in his arms. He made me feel so safe, so secure, so _loved. _I knew the wall I had erected around myself upon returning to Seattle was crumbling fast.

"Shhh, it's ok, Sweetness, I've got you now," he whispered as held me in his arms. I let it all out. I cried for the fear I felt and so much more. I was now beginning to see things in a whole different light.

When I was able to calm down and shut off the water works, I pushed myself away to lean back on my pillows. The crying had only made my head hurt worse.

"You ok now?" Edward asked. He reached over to the bedside table and handed me a couple of tissues. After I had finished drying my eyes and calming down a bit more, he poured me a cup of water.

Taking a sip of the water, I then said, "Yeah, I guess what happened just got to me for minute."

"That's understandable. Are you sure that's all?"

"No, but my head hurts too much to think about talking right now. Later?" I asked him, hoping he'd see that I wasn't trying to get out of telling him what was going on with me, I just really didn't feel up to it at the moment.

"Later's good, how about right now I go find your nurse and let her know you are awake? Maybe she can give you something to help with your head," he suggested.

I nodded. Edward stood up and after quickly placing a soft kiss on my forehead, he said he'd be right back and was out the door.

A few minutes later Edward came back into the room followed by a nurse. Edward sat down in the chair next to my bed as the nurse grabbed the blood pressure cuff from its hook on the other side of my bed and wrapped it around my arm.

"Hi, sweetie, I'm Maggie and I'll be your nurse until around midnight. This gentleman says that your head is hurting you?"

"Yes," I answered her. She seemed very sweet in a June Cleaver, motherly sort of way.

Once Maggie was finished checking all my vital signs as well as my oxygen level, she noted everything on my chart and then asked, "Ok sweetie, on a scale of one to ten how bad is your pain? Once being no pain and ten being the worse possible you've ever experienced."

I was trying to decide what number would best relate the amount of pain I was experiencing. It wasn't the worst but it was definitely there.

"I'd say about a five or a six," I finally answered.

Maggie then said, "The doctor has written orders for Naproxen, which is like the Aleve you would by over the counter, or you can have Tylenol three's, which is Tylenol with codeine."

After she mentioned the meds that I had to choose from and told me that the stronger pain meds could make me sleep again, I wasn't sure which way to go. So I asked her, "If I take the Naproxen now can I have something stronger later if it doesn't work?"

"Yes, that shouldn't be a problem. Is that what you want then?"

"Yeah, I think I've been asleep long enough for now," I said smiling at her.

"Bella, are you sure you don't want something stronger?" Edward asked.

"Yes I'm sure. If it still hurts this much later then I will get something stronger."

"Promise?"

"I promise," I reassured to keep him from making such a big fuss.

"Oh don't be so hard on him, sweetie, he's just lookin after ya. He was frettin something fierce when they first brought ya up here," her southern twang coming through as she spoke.

"I'm beginning to see that now," I whispered, unable to stop the words from spilling out.

"Ok. Let me go get you something for your head. Then we'll take that IV out and I'll bring you a menu order form so you can get something to eat too."

While we waited for Maggie to return with my pain meds, Edward picked up the TV remote and began flipping through channels. It was early in the evening so there wasn't much other than news shows on. He finally settled on one and left it there.

Shortly after that Maggie returned with my medicine and menu. Once she had removed the IV from my hand, she told me to buzz the nurse's station when I had picked out my food and she'd come back to get the form and order it for me.

Looking over the menu, I found myself scrunching my nose up at what was offered. Edward noticed and asked, "What's got you making that face?"

Instead of answering him I handed him the sheet of paper. Once he was done looking it over, I couldn't help but giggle when he made almost the exact same face as I had.

"Well how about this," he said flashing me that gorgeous smile of his, "my sister was here earlier and she offered to bring us something if we needed her too."

"I hope I don't hurt your feelings when I say this, but my head already hurts, I don't think I can handle her endless chatter right now. I am sure she means well and she seems really sweet, but my ear is still buzzing from her nearly talking it off the other night."

"My baby sister?" he asked, faking a hurt look on his face.

I just stuck out my bottom lip and nodded my head, pretending to pout to keep from laughing at him.

"Ok, I'll tell ya what. You suck that lip back in before I kiss it and I'll see if we can have pizza delivered here. You like deluxe right?"

I nodded again and smiled, briefly thinking about letting my lip continue to pucker out to see if he would really kiss me. Thinking about him kissing me really brought home what I was missing out on. What if I hadn't made it out of that closet today? Edward would be left wondering how I really felt about him and never knowing how much I truly cared for him. _How much I loved him._ I wasn't quite ready to say the words to him, but I knew in my heart that I really did love him.

"I'll be right back," he said as he got up and left to go down to the nurse's station.

By the time Edward returned I really needed to use the bathroom, so he helped me out of bed to make sure I didn't get dizzy. While I was in there I had the thought that I'd really like to take a shower, but knew I didn't have anything with me. But then an idea hit me.

"Hey, Edward," I called from the bathroom knowing he was standing just outside the door.

"Yeah, Sweetness, you ok in there?" he called back.

"Would you see if the nurse could maybe get me a pair of scrubs I could wear as pajamas? I'd really like to take a shower."

"Here I'm not sure what's in here, but my sister brought some stuff I asked her to get from my loft and she said that she brought some things for you too."

I looked through the bag and there was a pair of yoga pants and a shirt along with a bra and panties, but no pajamas.

"Are you still there?" I called through the door.

"Yep, whatcha need?"

"There weren't and pajamas in the bag of stuff from your sister, so could you check on the scrubs or at least a clean hospital gown for me?"

"Sorry about that, I'll go check up at the nurse's station, you stay sitting in there until I get back," he ordered.

"Yes sir," I responded sarcastically.

After what seemed like forever, Edward knocked on the bathroom door and said, "Here's a robe, the nurse said that there should be towels and everything else you need for the shower in there and she will check on the scrubs."

"Ok, thanks," I answered.

"Bella?" he called.

"Yeah," I called as I reached to turn on the water so it got hot.

"_Please _be careful," he said and I could hear the strain in his voice, giving me an idea of just how much he had been through today after finding me in that closet. I shivered at the memory of pounding on the door and feeling myself slipping under and not being able to do anything about it.

"Bella, did you hear me?" he called this time opening the door slightly.

"Yes I did. I promise to be careful," I said sticking my head out the door.

He reached up and grazed my cheek with the back of his fingers. I couldn't help but lean into his touch. For a moment he leaned forward like he was going to kiss me, but then pulled back at the last minute.

Clearing his throat, he then said as he pointed to the chair behind him, "I'm just gonna sit here on this chair, holler if you need me."

"Ok," I whispered, finding myself disappointed that he hadn't kissed me. This was the second time tonight I had thought about kissing him. The more I thought about it the more I missed how it felt to be kissed by him. He could tell me over and over again how he felt for me and that was fine, I loved hearing it. But feeling his emotions being conveyed through his kiss or his soft caresses was a totally different and completely consuming sensation.

I stuck my hand in the shower to test the water temperature. It was a little on the hot side but felt good and I was hoping it would ease my headache some.

As I washed myself, I thought about all that had happened today. I had to brace myself against the wall when it hit me how lucky I was to be standing here right now. I didn't know how close I had come to not coming out of that closet alive and I didn't know if I really wanted to. I thought some more about all the recent changes in my life and I knew it was time to make some changes in myself.

I finished washing and got out. After drying off, I dug through the bag Edward had given me with the stuff from his sister. When he had given me the bag before my shower, I had been expecting to find my own stuff that he had sent her to get from my house. But instead I had found brand new clothing with the tags still attached. As much as I hated that she had done this, I was also grateful. I didn't know how she got the size right, but it didn't really matter right now.

After putting on the undergarments, I called to Edward, "Hey, Edward, did the nurse bring me any scrubs to wear?"

I waited and there was no answer. Thinking that maybe the pizza had come, I pulled on the robe and opened the bathroom door to see if he was in the room.

When I walked out of the bathroom I was greeted by some fake Barbie looking nurse, throwing herself at Edward. She was acting completely like a slut as she flaunted her cleavage at him and tried to reach out and touch him. But he grabbed her hand before it could reach his chest and told her she needed to leave the room before he reported her to her superiors. Seeing the encounter between the two of them made me wonder what this Chelsea girl he used to date was like; if blond and Barbie like was the type of woman he usually went for.

Thrusting the scrubs at him, she huffed and stopped at the door saying, "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

"Don't hold your breath," he told her, causing me to snort which of course alerted him to the fact I was standing there.

He let out a frustrated sigh as he handed me the scrubs. I took them without saying anything and headed back into the bathroom to put them on.

When I entered the room again, Edward was opening the box of pizza and placing it on the rolling bed table. He had also gotten us both a bottle of water.

I walked over and climbed up on the bed, grabbing the water and taking a long drink of it. Edward sat at the end of the bed watching me as if he were waiting for me to say something.

"What?" I asked not knowing why he was staring at me.

"I'm sorry," he stated.

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" I asked with disbelief.

"For you seeing that nurse throwing herself at me."

"Um… I also saw you swat her away. But I'm sure you must be used to it. It's not your fault your so swoon worthy."

"Swoon worthy? Is that what you think I am, Miss Swan?" he teased and I saw a spark in his eyes that I hadn't seen since returning to Seattle.

I didn't answer him, but I was sure the blush currently warming my face and neck was all the answer he needed.

Lowering his voice for added effect he then said, "Well for the record, there is only one woman I want to swoon over me," he declared once again laying his feelings for me out there to see.

I wanted to talk to him, but I wasn't sure what to say or what I wanted to say for that matter, so I kept quiet and picked up a piece of pizza, taking a bite of it.

Once we were finished eating, Edward closed the box and set it on the counter across the room. He played with the remote again, until he found a baseball game to watch.

Wanting some time to think, I scooted down and rolled to my side closing my eyes and pretending to fall asleep. I didn't know how much time had gone by, but I had heard at least a couple of innings being played out in the game Edward was watching. And then the room was suddenly quiet. I listened to see if he was just changing the channels or if he had turned the TV off. I was answered when the room remained silent all except for the long sigh that I heard Edward release.

The quiet was then broken as Edward began to speak. "Are you that bored with the game, trying to ignore me, or are you really trying to go to sleep, Bella? 'Cause I know you're awake."

With it being much easier to maneuver in the bed now that the IV was out and I was allowed to take the pulse oximeter off my finger, seeing there was no point to faking my sleep any longer, I rolled over to face him. Upon opening my eyes I saw a somewhat pained and confused expression on his face.

"How'd you know?" I asked, wondering how he knew I wasn't sleeping.

"Well there's the fact that I have spent the night in bed with you and I've seen how your body relaxes when you are completely asleep, but um… I've…ah… also been checking on you at night after you've gone to bed. I might have watched you while you sleep a time or two."

"Oh," was all I managed to say being shocked by his admission.

"So why were you pretending to sleep?" he asked curiously.

"Just have a lot on my mind. I was sorting through some things."

"About what happened today?"

"That and other things too."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Yeah," I answered hesitantly.

"Ok, so what's going on in that gorgeous head of yours?"

"Well for starters, I think I owe you and Emmett a huge apology."

"For what?" he asked adjusting his position in the chair and taking a swig of his water.

"I was so wrong. I really believed that you and Emmett were going a bit overboard with my needing around the clock protection. I still don't particularly like how you went about making the choice for me and not letting me have much of a say in matters. But the fact that what happened today was so clearly a set up and I was trapped right under your nose, well it has just really hit me hard. It's made me see that I do need the protection."

It was hard for me to admit what I had to him. I was still a trained FBI agent and I still considered myself to be able to take care of myself in most instances. However, this was proving to be a situation beyond my ability to do that.

Edward's eyes met mine and I could see they were so full of emotion. He took my hand in his and linked our fingers together then rubbing his thumb back and forth over the top of mine, he said, "You know in hindsight I can see why you were so frustrated with us. While telling you that, I can also say it is only out of love and concern for you that we did things that way. We may have gone about it the wrong way, but we only did it because we love you."

"I'm starting to see that now," I admitted.

"I'm glad. I hate this distance, this wall that is between us, Bella."

"Um… about that," I paused for a minute and then taking a deep breath I practically blurted out, "I'm so tired of fighting my feelings for you."

"So don't," he said as if it were the easiest thing in the world to do.

"It's not that easy. I want to work to get things back the way they used to be between us and I am going to try harder to let that wall down and not fight how I feel for you any longer. But at the same time I'm still scared and I don't think I want to rush. I want to take it slowly, ease back into it. Does that make sense?"

"Yes it does. And I can't tell you how happy I am that you are willing to try and put things back together for us. I can do slow, Bella, I love you and if it is slow you want then that's fine. I just don't want to go on as we have been. It's killing me not being able to hold you, be next to you and kiss you. I wanted so badly to kiss you earlier before your shower. It took every ounce of will power I had to back off."

"I know," I whispered looking down at the bed and toying with the sheet.

He released my hand and placed his hand under my chin and gently raised my face so I was forced to look at him.

"You know?" he asked.

"Yeah I could tell and um… if I am completely honest I wanted you too."

Those few words were all it took for him to be next to me on the bed pulling me up in his arms and his mouth claiming mine. At first the kiss was soft, slow, both of us rediscovering each other, relishing in the feel of it. But soon my hands were sliding up his chest and finding their way to where they always did when he kissed me—his hair. As my fingers slipped through the strands and tugged on them, he moaned as his tongue slid across my bottom lip begging for entrance to my mouth. I didn't deny him. I wanted it just as much as he did, and God it was so much better than I remembered.

We continued to kiss until we had to break apart for air. After placing a few soft lingering kisses on my lips he released me so I could lean back against the pillows.

Once I was back in a comfortable position, I could tell that Edward was now the one with something on his mind.

"Your turn. What are you thinking about?"

"You mean, other than how awesome that kiss was?" he asked giving me a glimpse of his smile that I loved so much.

"Yes," I said grinning pretty widely myself.

"Well as long as we are talking about our relationship and how we feel about things, there are a couple of questions I've wanted to ask you."

"Ok so ask," I urged him.

"First I'd like to know why you are so, I guess gun shy now. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, I meant what I said about being ok with going slow. I know you've been hurt before, you told me that, but I just want to understand why the change. Is it because of what happened since we got back or something else, because when we were in Capri we just clicked and after some initial hesitancy you seemed to be all in? So can you help me to understand why you are so hesitant now?"

I nodded and then said, "You're right, I didn't hold back much in Capri. But it all happened so fast. We were in this perfect little bubble, like nothing in the world could touch us. It was wonderful, magical, exciting. But again it all happened so fast and since being back here, I've realized there is so much we still don't know about each other and I want to take the time to learn those things that I still don't know about you. For us to learn them about each other," I explained to him, hoping he understood and knew I wasn't trying to push him away.

"That makes sense and I do understand now. So my next question is, Bella, I know that I should have told you why I was in Italy once we became involved, and I've explained to you my reasons for not doing so. I also understand why it hurt you so much that I didn't. I know how much you value honesty. But because you value honesty so much and you even took the chance to tell me about your gift, what I have a hard time understanding is why you didn't tell me the real reason you were in Italy."

I had a feeling that he would be asking me this question sooner or later. It was in just the past few days when I had realized how unfair it had been of me to be so angry with him when I had done nearly the same thing. And in the long run one of my reasons had been the same as his.

"Oddly enough, one of my reasons for not telling you was actually the same as why you didn't tell me. I was afraid you wouldn't want anything to do with me anymore and I didn't think I could bear that. Once you accepted my gift without hesitation I was so afraid to give you any other reason to not be with me."

"Bella, how can you think that?"

"It's real easy. Look at what your life has become now because of your involvement with me. You've become completely uprooted from your life as you knew it before me, not to mention the fear that if you knew you might be in danger as well. You aren't even able to live in your own home for Christ sakes," I exclaimed.

"First of all, I could be living in my own house if a certain beautiful brunette I know wouldn't have been so damn stubborn and insist on living in her own house," he teased and then continued, "second, Bella, I could have walked away once we returned to Seattle. But once I realized that you were still going to need protection possibly even more than you did before, there was never a choice in the matter. Like I said that day in Emmett's office, if I had to camp out on your front lawn to make sure you were safe, I would have done it."

"Thank you," I said to him realizing I had never done so before.

We spent some more time talking for the next couple of hours and watching the end of the baseball game. We decided that as long as I was released tomorrow morning and the doctor didn't have any aversion to it, we would go ahead and leave for Forks on Saturday morning. However, it wasn't long before my head was hurting again and I was truly ready to go to sleep. Edward was still watching TV, but he held my hand while I drifted off to dreamland. It was a wonderful feeling.

Sometime after I had fallen asleep I woke briefly and thought I had heard another male voice besides Edward's in the room, but I was so tired, I didn't know if it was real or if I had dreamt it so I didn't bother to open my eyes. I was just barely conscious enough to have the thought to ask Edward about it in the morning.

However, sleeping through the rest of the night wasn't in the cards for me. At some point I woke up in a panic thrashing around in the bed and gasping for air. It wasn't until Edward scooped me up in his arms and I heard his voice in my ear soothing me, telling me that everything was ok, that I calmed down.

**_July 2, 2010_**

The next time I woke up it was due to the feeling of being carried. As it turned out, Edward had been placing me back on the bed after sleeping with me on his lap in the chair.

The nurse went through her morning routine, checking my blood pressure, temperature and other vital signs. She then informed Edward and me that everything seemed to be as it should and that the doctor would most likely release me when he came by during his morning rounds in about an hour.

Edward and I passed the time by eating some breakfast and then getting dressed. I opted for some juice and toast while Edward ate the eggs and hash browns and drank the coffee. I laughed when he said it wasn't nearly as good as the stuff I had at home.

It was then that I remembered thinking I had heard someone in the room talking to him last night.

Taking a sip on my juice I asked, "Did the doctor come by to check on me last night?"

"No why?"

"Maybe it was my imagination, but I thought at one point I heard you talking to someone. I thought I heard another man's voice."

Edward got up and walked across the room to get his shoes from where he had kicked them off by the small closet built into the wall of the room. As he picked up his shoes and came back over to sit in the chair next to the bed, he sighed and ran his hands through his hair as if something were bothering him.

Leaning over to put his shoes on, I heard him say, "You probably did," but it was almost as if he didn't really want me to hear him.

"Edward, what's wrong? Did the doctor tell you something bad? Is there something wrong with me from my exposure to the gas?" I was racking my brain trying to figure out what could have possibly happened for him to have this attitude.

"No, Bella, it wasn't the doctor."

"Then who?"

"Jacob Black came by here to check on you," he stated harshly as he finished tying his shoes.

"What the hell was he doing here?" I asked completely baffled.

"He was hurt yesterday too. There was a trip line rigged on the basement stairs and he fell. Apparently in the fall he broke his foot, which was why he was here. So he said that he was worried and just wanted to check on you. He may have mumbled something about knowing he was far from your favorite person, but he hated that you got hurt. "

"I can't believe he had the nerve to actually think that I'd want to see him. I don't care what his reason was," I growled out of frustration. I didn't want that jackass anywhere near me.

"I know, but he did seem sincere. However I think he was a little shocked to find me here with you. He had a hard time looking at me as he talked instead of focusing on the fact that I was holding your hand while you slept."

"Too bad he didn't hit his head and knock some sense into his thick skull," I said while trying to figure out why Edward had started chuckling at me.

"Why are you laughing at me, Edward Cullen?"

"Because you are so damn cute when you get all pissy," he said as he stood and planted a kiss on my cheek before he started to gather all our stuff together.

I started to comment but was interrupted by a knock on the door and the doctor stepping into the room. A half hour later after getting checked out by the doctor and going over my discharge instructions with him, Edward and I were set to go. Edward asked if the trip to Forks was ok and the doctor had no problem with it, just informed us that the drive might tire me out a little more easily than it normally would.

All we had to do now was wait for the nurse to bring a wheel chair to the room to wheel me out in. _Stupid hospital procedures._

Once we arrived back at my house, I called Emmett to let him know I was home from the hospital. He was going to come by this afternoon and talk to Edward and me about what they had found at the house as well as about the house.

Bored out of my mind and trying to occupy myself until Emmett got here, I cleaned up around the house and stripped both my and Edward's beds before putting clean sheets on them.

As I carried the laundry basket full of the bed linens I had removed from the beds, I noticed that the ones from Edward's bed smelled enticingly like him. Taking a big sniff of his pillowcase before tossing it into the washing machine, I had the crazy thought that if I could bottle his scent I would be a millionaire as women all over the world would want their men to smell as good as Edward did. I then also had the thought that I really didn't want to share how good he smelled with half the women of the world.

Feeling tired after the small amount of housework I had done, I decided to go see what Edward was doing. I felt bad when I found him asleep on the couch, knowing that my waking up in the middle of the night as well as sleeping in the chair with him must not have made it very easy for him to get much sleep.

I grabbed the throw that was draped across the back of the couch and covered him up with it. I then went into my room and got the matching throw from my bed and took it back into the living room and settled in on the opposite end of the couch. Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, I scanned through the channels until I found something to watch.

I dozed off and on until I heard a car pull into the driveway. Peeking out the front window, I saw it was Emmett.

I walked back over to the couch and knelt down in front of Edward. Running my fingers through his hair, I softy said his name a few times until he woke up.

Edward leaned forward and placed a quick peck on my lips after I told him that Emmett was here. He got up and went to get something to drink while I folded up both the throws we had used and then went to let Emmett in the door.

"So what did you find out?" Edward asked as the three of us sat down in the living room.

Sitting forward and resting his elbows on his knees, Emmett began to talk. "I am sure that you are aware that this was a set up. While we can't be one hundred percent certain that it was meant to harm Bella, it was definitely meant to send us a message. Someone is worried we are getting too close to discovering something or they want to rattle our cage to get us to back off before we discover something."

"So you don't think this was necessarily intended solely for me?" I asked him.

"In the grand scheme of things I would say that yes it would seem because of the reason we went to the house in the first place it was most likely meant for you. However, after Seth and I finished searching the house we discovered other traps."

"Where'd you find them at? Because I left no stone unturned on the first floor," Edward stated.

"I am sure that you did. In fact it was by pure chance that Seth nearly fell victim to it," Emmett told us.

"What was it?" I asked.

"There was a trap door under that nasty oriental rug in the dining room. If I hadn't been right behind Seth and able to grab on to him and pull him backwards, he'd have fallen down it. And after discovering the trap door, and after what happened to you and Jake, I am certain that the few stairs that gave away under me when I was climbing to the third floor were a trap as well. I had originally ignored it due to the age of the home. I had been lucky enough to catch myself on the banister so that I didn't fall backwards down the steps. I know that it still seems as though Bella was the obvious target, but the fact is there is no way anyone could have been certain that you would have ended up in that closet, Bella, or that you would have discovered any of the other traps. It could have been any one of us. Based on the fact there was something rigged on each floor of that house, I believe it was meant to simply harm any one of us to send a message," Emmett informed Edward and me.

"Anything else?" Edward asked him.

"The house is owned by Reynolds."

"Well I think that pretty much sums up that; even if it were just a message they wanted to send, it was meant for me."

"I agree," Edward added.

"Again it's a big possibility, but there's no way to ever be one hundred percent sure of it. At least not right now. Not unless we find solid proof to support that theory or we get some kind of confession."

"What did you find out about the closet?" Edward asked Emmett, which was something I really wanted to know too.

"Whoever did it used really simple devices. They spray painted some heavy duty springs to match the door, which allowed them to blend in with the door, especially with the lack of light in the area. There was a weight activated trigger under the carpet just inside the door and the door knob lock was rigged to remain locked no matter what. You step on the trigger, the door slams shut and the gas is released. Any of it could be purchased anywhere except the gas. It is a police issued substance used for hostage and riot situations. So how that was obtained is still a big question."

"What about Jake? Edward said that he was hurt too. Something about a trip wire on the basement stairs."

"Yeah he was. But if he had used a flashlight he would have seen it. It was simply a piece of wire strung across the stairs. He is lucky though that his foot is all that is broken."

"Yeah 'cause we all know his brain was already defective," I said snidely.

"So where do we go from here?" Edward asked.

"Forensics is going over that house with every available agent they have. We want to make sure there is nothing missed. Then the house is deemed a crime scene and sealed off and guarded. We're gonna get to the bottom of this, Bella. I won't give up until we do. That closet incident was too close a call for me to let it go any other way."

"Too fucking close," Edward muttered, making me think I had come much closer to never making it out of that closet alive than I had originally thought.

"Well that is all the important stuff for now. We can go over anything else they find next week," Emmett said as he got up like he was ready to leave. He walked towards the door and Edward and I both got up to follow him.

Emmett stopped by the front door and turned to face us as he said, "Oh I almost forgot. Bella, Rose wanted to know if you are going to go to that wedding with Edward. She wants to plan stuff for us to do if you are going to stay with us for the weekend."

I looked up at Edward and I could see that he was anxious about what my answer would be. I smiled shyly at him and then gave Emmett my answer. "Yes, I am going to go to the wedding."

Glancing back at Edward to see his reaction, he winked at me as a smile spread across his face.

"Good. Now I'm going to go enjoy my holiday weekend with my wife, you two have a good time in Forks."

Emmett left and once the door was shut and locked, Edward walked over to me and took both my hands in his.

"Thank you for agreeing to go," he said.

"I told you I am going to try and make this work and stop fighting how I feel for you, so it only makes sense that I go. Besides it will be good to get away for the weekend. I hear Vancouver is very pretty this time of the year."

"My sister said the same thing when she chose it for her wedding. Now, since you are in such an agreeable mood, how about you let me take you out to dinner," Edward suggested pulling me closer to him.

"Can I get a rain check on dinner? I'm just really tired. I probably shouldn't have done the housework I did and now I'm pooped."

He gave me a quick dose of his sad pout, but then offered, "How about I order Chinese and we watch a movie?"

"Sounds much better," I told him.

After our dinner arrived we decided on a movie and dug into our food. As we ate I decided to ask him a question I had been dreading.

"Edward, how close was I to not making it out of the closet alive?" I twisted my napkin around my fingers to calm my nerves as I waited for his answer.

"Do you really want to know? Does it really matter?" he asked setting down his plate and turning to sit sideways on the couch facing me.

"No, it doesn't matter, but, I want to know. If you don't tell me I will automatically assume the worst and my imagination is going to go nuts."

He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it, then held it tightly between both of his. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and held it for a minute without saying anything. I still needed to hear him say the words to me, but his reaction told me everything. It had been very close.

"Edward?" I asked reaching up to run my free hand along his arm.

"It was extremely close, Bella," his voice hitched slightly as he spoke. "You were barely breathing when I carried you out of that closet. I don't think I've ever been more scared in my entire life."

I nodded and then said, "I'm sorry you were so scared. That could have been you and it would have been my fault."

"No, Bella. It would have been James Reynolds' fault and whoever is helping him."

"I know you are right, but I just can't help but think you are in this mess because of me."

"I might be, but, Bella, I wouldn't want it any other way. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. Even if that means never letting you out of my sight again."

"You're serious aren't you?" I asked.

"Very much so, now let's try to think about happier things. Like me having to meet your parents tomorrow."

"You sure that will be happier?" I teased. "My father is just as protective of me as you are ya know."

"Well then we will have something in common to talk about," he teased back.

We finished eating and then curled up on the couch together to watch the rest of the movie. About halfway through the movie, being curled up next to Edward along with the effects of a full stomach I was ready to pass out. I tried to fight it and keep watching the movie, but I was entirely too comfy and cozy to do so. The last thing I remembered thinking as I gave in to the pull of sleep was how nice it was to be back in Edward's arms.

**Can't wait to hear what you think. Thanks for reading, see ya next week. **

**EA~  
**


	13. Come To Me

**Hi, I had this all uploaded and ready to go so I thought I would be nice and post it a little bit early. Plus, my arm might have been twisted a little by a friend or two. Thank you to My Bella and Hope4More. **

**This wasn't the song I originally planned to use, but Alicetheannoyinglittlepixie said the words were perfect so I did it for her. **

**Stephenie owns it all. **

_When you're down and you feel so lonely  
Turn around, you can come to me  
When you're down baby, I will be the only  
Come to me_

_You can just be yourself,  
'Cause I don't want nobody else.  
All of your secrets are safe with me.  
For the kind of love you can trust,  
For more than just a crush,  
Baby, why don't you just come to me?_

_[Chorus]__  
Let me be the one,  
Telling you it's alright  
Sharing the smiles and tears you cry.  
Let me be the one,  
Loving you when you're weak.  
For all of the strength you need,  
You can come to me._

_When I've got you in my arms (got you in my arms)  
Say it's where you wanna be (where you wanna be, yeah)  
'Cause girl I'm down on my knees  
Promising my heart oh, my heart_

_**Come To Me by Jesse McCartney**_

**~*EPOV*~**

**_July 3, 2010_**

As the alarm clock blared in my ear, I rolled over and pressed the snooze button in my attempt to not have to make the effort to get up yet. Sleep had not come easy to me last night. Even though I was exhausted and knew I needed to sleep so I was alert for our trip today, I had still been restless.

Leaving Bella in her bed alone had been very difficult last night. She had fallen asleep with me on the couch while we watched a movie. It had been so long since she had let me hold her in my arms, kiss her, or show her any kind of affection other than just through the words I would say to her. Sure we had been talking and getting along so much better, but I missed the physical closeness too.

After I couldn't stay awake any longer, I had relented and carried her into her bed. For a moment I had considered staying with her on the couch and sleeping there for the night, but I knew we had the drive to Forks today and starting the trip off being cranky from achy muscles or lack of sleep would not be a good thing.

Once I had tucked her into her bed, I battled with myself over lying down next to her so I could hold her through the night. But she was finally opening up to me, to _us, _and I didn't want to do anything that would cause a setback.

When the snooze alarm interrupted my thoughts, I dragged myself out of bed and took a quick shower and got dressed. I figured a pair of jeans and a polo shirt would be comfortable for the nearly four hour drive we had ahead of us later this morning. Of course I would press the speed limits whenever I could so hopefully it wouldn't take us quite that long. Although on second thought, the faster I got there the faster I would be meeting Bella's father. It had been a long time since I had done the whole meet the parents deal with any woman I dated. But Bella was so much more than just a woman I was dating. She was the love of my life and all I could do was hope that her father would see how much I cared for her and how willing I was to protect her at any cost. _That has to mean something and score me some points, right?_

I hurried out of my room to the kitchen to see if I could get there before Bella and cook breakfast for her. But as soon as I hit the bottom of the stairs and I smelt coffee and bacon, I knew she had beaten me to it.

As I made my way into the kitchen, I found Bella standing in front of the stove flipping pancakes in one skillet and bacon in another. I couldn't help standing there and watching her for a few minutes. She was still in her pajamas and cute as ever. Her hair was clipped up off of her neck and the longer I watched her, the harder it was to resist going over and placing a kiss there. Sneaking up behind her, I snaked my arms around her waist and place a lingering kiss on the tender spot just below her ear.

"Good morning, Sweetness," I whispered against her neck. I was surprised when she jumped slightly as she felt my arms going around her waist. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," I said, resting my chin on her shoulder.

"It's ok, I just hadn't heard you come in," she replied. Then quickly changing the subject, she turned her head to the left and kissed my cheek saying, "Good morning to you too."

"Breakfast smells good. I was actually on my way down here to fix breakfast for you."

"Really?" she asked seeming slightly shocked. But the smile on her face told me that she liked the idea. I would have to remember to do it another time.

"Yep. What time did you get up?"

"Oh about an hour and a half ago. The phone woke me up and I couldn't go back to sleep after that," she said as she pulled out of my embrace and separated the stack of pancakes into two piles on the plates sitting next to the stove on the counter top.

I backed up to lean against the counter, giving her room to move around and finish what she was doing. "Who called so early?"

"Nosy much this morning?" she asked flippantly with a huge grin on her face.

"Just curious, that's all," I replied with a smile of my own. It was so good to see this side of her again. The happy, playful Bella I had fallen in love with.

"Oh, I see," she returned, trying to keep a straight face. She went about adding the bacon to our plates and then carrying them both over to the table.

"What do you want to drink? I'll get it for us," I said as I grabbed a coffee cup to get myself some. When I turned to face her and wait for her response, I noticed right away that she had placed one of the plates on the end and the other on the side of the table as opposed to them being on opposite ends as they had been when we had eaten together over the course of the past couple of weeks. _She really is finished pulling away from me._

I was jarred from my observations when she answered, "Um, I'll have juice. I already had some coffee while I was cooking."

"Juice it is," I told her as I walked to the fridge to get it out.

We sat down at the table and I thanked her for fixing me breakfast before I dug into the pile of pancakes and the newspaper.

We had been eating quietly for a few minutes when she out of nowhere said, "Nana."

"Huh, What?" I asked, not sure what she meant as I was engrossed in the newspaper article I was reading.

"The phone call this morning, it was Nana," she explained taking a bite of her bacon.

"Oh really, what did she want so early?" I asked, as my eyes stayed on hers.

"They are all anxious for us to get there. She wanted to know what time we were leaving."

"All of them," I asked, wondering if her father was included.

"Yeah, why?"

"Bella, I guess what I am failing to ask is… Does your father know about our involvement yet?"

"I'm not really sure. I know my mother is aware. Nana told her. So there is a possibility that he does."

She got quiet while swirling her fork through the puddles of syrup on her plate.

"Edward?"

"Yeah." For some reason I had a feeling she was about to ask me a trick question. One of those questions you never know how to answer, like does this make me look fat, kind of question.

"Are you worried about meeting my father? Like afraid to?" she asked looking up at me.

"Am I afraid? No. Am I concerned about what he thinks of me? Yes," I confessed.

"I can understand that. I don't think you have anything to worry about though. Charlie can come across tough at first. Remember he is a cop and he likes to use that to intimidate people sometimes, but underneath his bark there is no bite." She paused and popped her last bite of bacon in her mouth and then letting out a small snort she said, "Unless of course, you give him a reason to bite."

"Hmmm, then I guess I will have to be on my best behavior," I said as I got up to get a second cup of coffee. I stopped next to her and leaned over placing my lips right beside her ear, so close they were almost touching it. Lowering my voice I whispered, "Or would you rather I be bad?" I stood back up, winking and grinning mischievously at her as I walked across the room to the coffee maker. She sat with her mouth opening and closing a couple of times as if she wanted to say something, but nothing ever came out.

Once we had finished breakfast, Bella ran off upstairs to shower and get dressed while I cleaned up in the kitchen. After I had that done, I went upstairs to make sure I hadn't forgotten to pack anything.

Finally certain that I had everything, I put my watch on and shoved my wallet into my back pocket. Grabbing my cellphone and keys along with my bag I headed downstairs. Nearing the bottom of the stairs, I stopped dead in my tracks.

Bella was bent over digging in the side pocket of her bag. Her perfect ass was right there staring me in the face. If that weren't enough, she had shorts on exposing her legs as well. Even though the shorts she was wearing today weren't anywhere near as short as the ones she had worn previously, the sight of her brought back images from her little car washing stunt, causing the front of my pants to tighten considerably.

_Cool your jets, Cullen,_ I scolded myself internally as I gathered my wits and stepped off the last stair walking over to set my bag next to hers. But my relief was short lived. Bella stood up straight, flipping her hair back and out of her face, taking my breath away. It was such a simple thing for her to do, but she was sexy as hell as she did it. The way she moved, the quick fluid motion she used as her head snapped back, causing her hair to fall perfectly down her back and around her shoulders, reminded me of those sexy shampoo commercials you see on TV. Only Bella's beauty far surpassed the looks of any of those women. And what made her so completely alluring was she didn't even realize just how beautiful and sexy she was.

Bella was wearing a chocolate brown sleeveless top that tied at her shoulders and was gathered at her waist showing off not only how tiny she was but the curves of her hips too. The color magnified the brown in her eyes making them appear as molten pools of chocolate. All of that combined with the exposed creamy smooth skin of her shoulders and slender legs was going to drive me crazy the entire ride to Forks.

She smiled brightly at me as she popped a piece of gum in her mouth and asked, "You ready to go?"

"I'm ready when you are."

"Okay, then let's get this show on the road," she urged.

I picked up both our bags and flung the straps over my shoulder as Bella grabbed her purse and sunglasses from the table by the door. I opened the door for her and she stepped out while I quickly set the alarm. I then shut the door making sure it was locked. Reaching the car, I opened the passenger side door for her and shut it, then made my way to the back of the car and put our bags in the trunk. Once I was seated next to her in my car, I started the engine and pulled my sunglasses from the visor overhead. Shifting the car into reverse, I backed out of the driveway to send us on our way.

We stopped and gassed up the car at a local service station. While I filled the tank, Bella went inside and grabbed drinks for us both. I was a little nervous about her going in by herself. But we were in a public place that was packed with other people headed out of town for the holiday weekend. I was also in clear view and only about twenty feet away from the single entrance into the building. Plus, I kept repeating to myself that she was a trained FBI agent. It was something I struggled with constantly.

Fortunately before I had a chance to let my imagination go crazy with worry, Bella was back beside me in the car.

About an hour and a half into our trip as we neared Discovery Bay, it began to rain. Soon after, the combined sounds of the rain and the hum of the car had gotten to Bella and she fell asleep.

Needing to keep my eyes on the road I couldn't watch her sleep like I would have loved to. So instead, I reached over and picked up her hand that was resting on her leg and held it in mine. She must have been really tired as she didn't move a muscle. It made me wonder if she had not slept well last night.

Somewhere in between Sequim and Port Angeles, the rain turned into a torrential thunderstorm forcing me to let go of Bella's hand and keep them both on the steering wheel.

When Bella began to get restless in her sleep, I at first thought it was possibly due to the loud claps of thunder echoing all around us. But when she started thrashing her head back and forth in her sleep and wasn't responding to me calling her name. I signaled to change lanes so I could pull the car over on the shoulder of the road. As I did, an even louder roar of thunder ripped through the sky followed by an intense bolt of lightning causing Bella to jolt forward in her seat awake and shouting "no" as she shook like a leaf on a tree.

"Bella, what's wrong?" I asked her as I reached over to comfort her. However as soon as my hand touched her, she jumped in her spot in the seat.

I watched as she took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself and once she seemed to have done so I asked her again, "Bella, honey, are you ok?"

She looked at me like she was contemplating what to say in her fear induced anxiety and said, "Oh. Um… yeah, the storm just startled me is all."

I didn't believe her for one second. She was far too upset for her reaction to have been caused by the storm alone. The storm we'd been in while in Italy was far worse than this and she never batted an eye at it. I was willing to bet that she'd had some kind of a bad dream. When she mumbled something about needing to use the restroom, I remembered seeing a sign about a rest stop a couple of miles ahead. Seeing that she didn't want to talk about it right this minute, I thought it might be best to give her the few minutes it would take to reach the rest stop to calm down a bit and then approach her again. Hopefully she would open up to me by then.

In the short time it had taken us to arrive at the stop, the storm had died down considerably, but it was still raining pretty hard. I reached into the back seat and grabbed the umbrella I kept there and an old jacket that was lying on the seat. I gave Bella the umbrella and I used the jacket to cover myself as best I could as we both dashed towards the rest stop building.

Finished before Bella, I waited outside the door to the ladies room for her. When she emerged, I could tell instantly that something was bothering her. She had a sullen look on her face and if I didn't know any better I would say fear in her eyes.

She tried to force a smile as she started to walk past me back to the car, but I pulled her to me and backed myself against the concrete wall of the building and held her to my chest. After a few seconds she relaxed in my arms.

I kissed the top of her head and spoke softly to her. "Sweetness, I've seen you in a thunderstorm much worse than this; it didn't even phase you in the slightest. What's going on? You're scared and I can see it. Please don't shut me out."

"I…I had a bad dream," she mumbled into my shirt.

Looking around for a place to sit down that was dry, I noticed a picnic table that was about fifteen feet away, in the covered area between an information center and the restrooms by some vending machines and a map rack.

I gently turned her and with my arm still around her shoulders, I urged her forward towards the table. Sitting down on the bench, I pulled her down on my lap and wrapped one arm around her waist and with the other I lifted her chin so she was meeting my gaze.

"Talk to me, Bella. This obviously wasn't a good dream so let me help you work through it. Let me be there for you. Don't hold it inside and let it eat at you."

"It really wasn't a big deal," she said looking away from me, which told me right away she was holding back on me.

"Damn it, Isabella. We just talked the other day about honestly and how important it was for us to be one hundred percent honest with each other from here on out in our relationship and yet here you are already keeping things from me. Now are you going to keep your word, live up to the standards that you hold everyone else to, or are you going to sit here and continue feeding me a line of bull?"

She let her head fall to my shoulder and after a minute she let out a deep sigh and mumbled against my neck, "I'm sorry. You must think I'm such a hypocrite."

"Hey, look at me," I said nudging her back, urging her to sit up so I could see her face as I spoke to her. Once she did I went on. "I don't think you are a hypocrite, Bella. Whatever the dream was about, I can see that it frightened you and I can understand you not wanting to rehash it. I haven't seen fear in your eyes like I did a few minutes ago since the morning we flew out of Italy. But I want you to let me be there for you. Let me help you work through it. I know you are used to doing things on your own and I understand that you are a strong independent woman. But, Bella, you aren't alone anymore and just because you lean on someone for support doesn't mean you are weak. As I told you before, I'm not going anywhere and I believe now more than before that you don't want me to."

"No, I don't," she whispered and I could see tears glistening in her eyes.

"Then tell me what the dream was about," I reiterated.

"It was about the house."

"Ok, what about it?" I asked while trying to encourage her to continue.

"Ugh," she groaned.

"Hey," I said and then placed a soft kiss on her lips. "You can tell me anything. It's ok. Whatever the dream was about, you are here with me. _You are safe_."

"I was in the house. Actually in the closet. And when the door slammed shut I turned around and _he_ was there."

"He who? Reynolds?"

"Yes. I don't remember his exact words, but he said something like, 'I've got you now, my darling. You can't escape me this time.' And then he started laughing like a madman. That's all I can remember except the thunder waking me up."

I brushed back the hair that had fallen around her face, cupping her face in my hands. "Sweetness, I know what happened has shaken you up. I think it's probably pretty normal that it has and it may take you some time to work through it. I made a promise to you to do everything within my power to keep you safe and I still intend to do so. None of us could have known what would happen when we set out to search that house. So we move forward and we'll be more careful. I know it sounds a lot easier than what it might actually be, but that's what we have to do. We can't let that monster get to us because if we do then he wins."

"You're right and thank you," she said, slipping her arms around my neck and hugging me. I hugged her back and even snuck in a few kisses before we got up and walked back to the car. As we did, it occurred to me that maybe she hadn't slept well last night since she had fallen asleep so easily in the car. That combined with the fact that she had jumped when I touched her this morning had me worried that this wasn't the first nightmare she'd had. I didn't want to say anything to her now and upset her more. But I would be watching to see if I saw her appearing to be more tired now.

As we pulled back on to the highway, it was still raining but the storm had let up considerably. I came up with a plan to keep Bella awake and help us both pass the time.

"I have an idea," I said to her as I reached over and took her hand in mine.

"And what would that be?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at me in her curiosity.

"You said we needed to get to know more about each other, so how about we play a round of twenty questions. We'll take turns. Sound fair?"

"Ok. Are we going to limit the questions to any topic in particular or avoid any topics?"

"As far as I'm concerned everything is fair game. I don't have anything to hide. Do you, Miss Swan?" I teased.

"Nope. Bring it on, Mr. Cullen," she retorted.

"You got it, Sweetness, and since I'm such a gentleman, you can go first." I watched her roll her eyes at my comment.

"Hmmm, I'll start with an easy one. What's your favorite food?"

"Mmm, I would have to say my mom's lasagna," I answered, wondering what the evil grin on her face was all about. "What?" I asked.

"Lasagna huh?"

"Yes, ma' am."

"What if I said I bet I can make lasagna better than your mom?" she challenged.

"I would say I dare you to try."

"Um, Edward?"

"Yes, Sweetness," I answered pouring on the charm.

"Did you forget that my Grandmother was born and raised in Italy? She is one hundred percent Italian and has been cooking longer than we've been alive. And as her granddaughter, she has taught me how to perfect some of her recipes?"

"Well, I guess I didn't think about it quite like that. But am I correct in assuming that lasagna would be one of those recipes you have perfected as you call it?"

"Yes you would be," she replied and the smile she had on her face was so bright it could wash away the darkest storm clouds. I made it my mission to see her smile like that often.

We continued back and forth for a while, learning many things about each other. I learned that her minor in college had been literature and that in addition to loving to read, she also enjoyed writing. She talked about her friend Angela who lived in New York, and how they were always getting into trouble when they were kids. How they skipped school and the prank they pulled their senior year in high school by putting Vaseline on every door knob in the school. She said that they had been lucky her father was the chief of police and had been able to convince the principle to let her and Angela help the janitor with his after school cleaning in order to make up for the mess they had made as well as sneaking into the school the night before to put the prank in motion.

I told her how I had been forced to play the piano when I was young and how I had been hounded for many years to follow in my father's footsteps and become a doctor. She laughed when I told her how Alice and I would snitch on each other as much as we could to see who could get the other one in more trouble. Bella thought it was funny that more times than not I had been the one getting in more trouble because Alice was so good at embellishing her stories to make whatever it was I had done seem so much worse than it had been. Bella said her brother and her just tried to annoy each other as much as possible. We found it interesting that there was close to the same amount of years between us and our siblings and while we both had love-hate relationships with them when we were younger, if an outsider tried to mess with one or the other we were also fiercely protective of them as well.

Our talk quickly strayed from asking each other questions to just telling each other things we didn't already know, but it didn't really matter because she was smiling and we were finding out more about each other.

Before we knew it we were passing the sign that told us we were now entering Forks. It was no longer raining, but the clouds overhead were still dark.

Bella giggled and said, "Now pay close attention and be careful not to blink or else you might miss the whole town."

We passed a diner and as my stomach grumbled a little, I asked, "Do you want to stop and get some lunch or keep going?"

"Well I'm pretty sure part of why Nana was so intent on knowing what time we were leaving was so that she could have a mountain of food ready for us to eat."

"Then I am all for waiting to eat," I said laughing and not caring if it gave up the fact that I was looking forward to eating her grandmother's cooking.

She caught on right away. "I don't blame you ya know," she said with a bit of a smirk on her face.

"For what?" I asked.

"For wanting to wait to eat. Nana can cook better than anyone I know. I'm betting my dad has been enjoying sinking his teeth into everything she has cooked since arriving in Forks. I guess it should come as no surprise that she has already won you over with the little bit of her cooking you tasted while we were in Capri?"

"Hell yeah she did. And I'm hoping that with that little lasagna challenge you threw out earlier that you can cook as well as she can." We had been eating fairly simple meals or ordering out since I had been at Bella's house, but now that things were better between us, I was hoping that not only would she cook more, but I was looking forward to cooking for her as well. I was no expert in the kitchen by any stretch of the imagination, but I could whip up a few things.

Bella had been right about the town being incredibly small and in a matter of minutes we were leaving the downtown area as she referred to it and entering the residential area. She directed me on when and which way to turn and soon we were pulling into her parent's driveway.

"Huh, that's odd," she said as I opened her door.

"What's odd?" I asked curiously.

"It looks as though no one is here. My father's truck is here, but his police cruiser is gone along with my mother's car. It's doesn't surprise me that my dad may have gotten called in to the station for something but my mom being gone does."

"Well, let's get our stuff and go inside and see if they left a note or something."

She nodded and we both moved around to the back of the car to get our things. I tried to grab her bag before she could, but she managed to get it first and then stuck her tongue out at me playfully when I held my hand out to her silently asking for the bag. Of course she never gave in, so I relented and grabbed my own bag and then shut the trunk of the car.

As we climbed the stairs of the front porch, Bella's grandmother must have heard us coming because by the time we had reached the top, the front door was swung open by her welcoming us both with a bright and warm smile on her face.

"Nana!" Bella exclaimed excitedly as she rushed to the woman standing by the door.

I watched as she enveloped Bella in a tight hug, kissing both her cheeks and murmuring words I couldn't make out in her ear. Whatever it was Bella was blushing so I told myself to remember to ask her about it later. As the two women broke apart I was surprised when Bella's grandmother then pulled me into a hug, kissing both my cheeks just as she had done to her granddaughter.

"Hello, Edward dear. It's good to see you again," she said as she turned and ushered Bella and I into the house.

"It's good to see you again too ma' am," I replied.

"Now what did I tell you back at my house, young man? It's Nana or Carmen. You got that?" she reprimanded.

"Yes, m— Nana," I answered, catching myself before I called her ma'am again. I had been taught good manners growing up and it somehow felt disrespectful to call her by her first name, so I went with Nana.

"Why don't the two of you go upstairs and freshen up and I'll throw together some lunch," Nana suggested. Bella immediately started to giggle when my stomach grumbled. I was pretty sure she was thinking about the conversation we had just had about her grandmother's cooking in the car.

"Has mom prepared a room for Edward, Nana?" Bella asked.

"Yes. She tidied up Alec's old room for him yesterday."

Bella nodded and said, "We'll be right back down."

Bella took my hand and led me up the stairs. I had started out looking at the family photos that lined the walls up the staircase, but was soon distracted by the sight of Bella's derriere swaying back and forth in front of me as she climbed the steps. When I caught her glancing over her shoulder with a hint of a sly grin on her face, I knew she was completely aware of what she was doing to me. _Payback is going to be so much fun._

Once we reached the second floor landing, Bella led me down the hall to the last two doors. She pointed to the one on the right, "That's you. If there is anything you need, I'll be right here and the bathroom is that last door on the left at the other end of the hall," she said as she pointed to the door directly across the hall from mine and the one down the hall.

She started to turn and open the door to her room when I grabbed her and pressed her against the wall, instantly capturing her lips with mine and leaning against her enough so she was well aware of what her little episode of tail wagging on the steps had done to me. The kiss got heated quickly and when I was unable to resist pressing against her even harder, she moaned into my mouth sending waves of desire coursing through me. I wanted to make love to her again so badly, but I knew I had to wait for her to be ready to take our relationship to that level again. We got a bit more carried away and our teeth clanked together, causing Bella to pull away panting and trying to catch her breath. She buried her face against my chest and mumbled that we should get moving or Nana would come looking for us. The last thing I wanted was for her grandmother to relay to her father how she found us making out against Bella's childhood bedroom door.

"Meet ya back here in ten," I said to her, as I tried to calm my own breathing.

"Ok," she whispered rising up on her tip toes and placing a quick peck on the underside of my jaw.

I didn't do anything more than use the restroom to splash some cold water in my face to freshen up. After that I just sat on the bed in the room and waited a few minutes to give Bella time to do what she needed. When I opened the door to my room, I found Bella standing in the hall leaning against her door having changed her entire outfit.

"You changed," I stated as I looked over what she was now wearing. Bella had put on a pair of jeans and a short sleeved gray shirt that had a knotted tie in the bottom of the front, along with a pair of high top gray converse as opposed to the sandals she had worn earlier. As much as I hated that I couldn't see her legs or bare shoulders anymore, the slim fitting jeans she had put on still showed off her legs.

"Yeah, it feels cooler here than it did back in the city with all the sunshine we had there," she told me, moving forward and placing her hands on my shoulders.

I took the opportunity to lean down and steal another kiss from her since I didn't know when I'd get the next chance to do so. This kiss was much slower and softer than the previous one, but equally as good. Without saying anything when we moved apart, I slipped my hand in hers as we made our way downstairs to the kitchen.

Bella's grandmother appeared to have just completed preparing plates with sandwiches and pasta salad on them. Bella and I both sat down at the large kitchen island.

"You want something to drink?" Bella asked as she started to get up from her seat but was quickly told otherwise by her grandmother.

"Sit down child, I'll get it. Now what would the both of you like? I believe we have tea, soda, water, and there may be a beer or two in the fridge."

We both had tea and it didn't take either of us long to devour our lunch, which of course was delicious.

"So where is everyone?" Bella asked.

"Your father got called into the station, something about some teen hoodlums shooting off fireworks at cars as they drive by the high school. And your mother went in to town to get a few things we forgot the other day at the grocery store. She was also going to stop on the way at the hospital and see her friend Claire's newborn grandson. So it might be a bit before they return. So you kids run along and find something to do, while I get the bread baked for dinner," she told us.

"Do you need any help, Nana?" Bella asked her.

"No, honey, why don't you go for a walk or something? Stretch your legs from that long ride here. You know as soon as your parents get home, the quiet will disappear," she said while laughing lightly.

"Wanna go for a walk? There's a park just on the other side of the path through the woods behind the house," Bella suggested while smiling.

"Sure," I told her.

"We'll be back in a bit. I've got my phone with me if they get home before we do," Bella called to her grandmother as we headed out the back door.

"Where's this path at?" I asked Bella as we walked hand in hand across her back yard.

"Just over there. See where the trees part slightly," she said while pointing to the area she meant.

The path was just barely wide enough for the two of us to walk side by side through the dense patch of trees and bushes. Just when I thought she had gotten us lost in the woods, the trees began to thin and sure enough there was a park on the other side.

"See the lake over there," she asked pointing in the opposite direction we were walking. She seemed to be pulling me towards the playground.

"Yeah, why?"

"That's where the town will have the fireworks show tomorrow night. So we won't even have to drive anywhere. Dad has a few camping lanterns that we use to find our way through the trees just before it starts. We take blankets, a cooler with drinks, and just relax while we watch the show."

"Sounds perfect," I answered and then told her, "Tell me something about yourself that no one or hardly anyone knows."

"Hmmm. Oh I know," she said with a big grin. "When I was around nine, when I first really realized what my gift was, there were a few girls, really mean girls at my school who thought I was a witch."

"A witch?"

"Yeah. I kinda encouraged it a little bit. I would freak them out when I could tell what they were feeling or if they were lying. But I only did it because they were so mean. Now, if they were mean to me, I would snitch on them and get them in trouble for lying," she snickered.

Bella led me to the swings on the playground. She sat down on one and smiled at me like a little girl and asked me to give her a push. I did so and then backed out of the way, leaning against the front leg of the frame so I could watch her as she pumped her legs back and forth urging the swing higher. When she finally slowed down, I caught her legs and pulled them so that they wrapped around my waist while she was still seated on the swing.

"Do you know how wonderful it is to see you with that light back in your eyes and to see you so happy and carefree?" I whispered to her as I brushed her hair back out of her face until it was tucked behind her ear.

"I used to come here when I was younger to get away and have some quiet time or when I needed to think if something was bothering me."

"Is that why we are here now?"

"No. I just wanted to share it with you. My favorite time to come here was just before dark. It was always peaceful then. With the sky so dark from the storm cloud cover it sorta reminds me of that time of day."

"I love that you wanted to share it with me." I pulled her legs tighter around me and cupped her face urging her to lean forward and kiss me.

Once the kiss ended she let go of me with her legs and swung backwards before jumping off the swing. We began to walk around the park, eventually ending up on the bank of the lake resting our backs against a huge old oak tree. The ground was soaked but there were two large tree roots that bulged up at the base of the tree and provided the perfect dry spot to sit.

Bella was quiet as she sat with her head up against the tree and her eyes closed.

"You tired?"

"No, was just thinking."

"Care to share?" I asked linking my fingers with hers.

"Yeah, but I don't know if you will want me to or not once you know what it is I am thinking about."

"What do you mean?" I wasn't sure if she meant she was going to share something about herself she didn't think I would like or what her meaning might be.

"It's something I have wanted to ask you for a few days now."

"So ask. I told you I have nothing to hide from you. I'll tell you anything you want to know.

"It's a tough one. If you don't want to answer it you don't have to.

"Bella, ask the damn question?"

She got real quiet again for a minute and then she spoke so softly I could hardly hear her when she asked, "Have you ever been in love before? Um, before me that is?"

Her question caught me completely off guard. That was the last thing I would have expected her to ask me. Maybe how many past girlfriends I'd had or how many I had slept with, maybe even when had I lost my virginity. But this question was not one I saw coming.

"Wow. That's some question," I replied to her.

"I told you, but you insisted. But like I said, you don't have to answer it," she offered again, peeking up at me through the veil her long chestnut colored hair had formed around her face.

"Um, not that I'm trying to get out of answering you, but does it matter if I've been in love before?" I inquired curiously. "I mean, if I have, it's all in the past and has no bearing on my feelings for you or how much I love you."

"No it doesn't. I was just curious. Curious about how similar or different our pasts are."

"I see." I brought her hand to my mouth and kissed the back of it. Then taking a deep breath and releasing it, I finally answered her, "No, Bella. I've never been in love before. I've had a few lasting relationships, some that didn't last beyond a date or two, and even a serious one that lasted for quite a while. But I didn't love her. I cared very much about her, but it wasn't love."

She didn't say anything. In fact she hung her head even lower, allowing her hair to completely block my view of her face and preventing me from having any idea what was going through that pretty head of hers.

"Bella?"

"Yeah."

"Is everything ok?" I asked worried that I had said something terribly wrong. And that I had no clue how to fix it if I had because everything I told her was the absolute truth.

"Yes. Why?"

"Because you didn't say anything after I answered you. Did I say something wrong?"

"No. I guess I'm just surprised. Even though I really shouldn't be after what your sister said to me the other day," she told me while she began tearing blades of grass up from the ground with her free hand.

"What the hell did Alice say to you?"

"She told me pretty much the same thing. That you had never been in love before, but that she was certain you were in love with me. She told me that your ex-girlfriend is her matron of honor. And I guess I just had a hard time believing that I was really the first person you have been in love with. You have to know that you are a gorgeous man, Edward, and probably have had women throwing themselves at you for a long time."

"So my sister told you about Chelsea?" I was going to kill Alice. It was not that I had anything to hide about my relationship with Chelsea or that I didn't want Bella to know about her. But I would have preferred to be the one to tell her.

"Yes she did. She said that you cared for her, but that you didn't love her and that she wanted to settle down and get married and you didn't. So she broke up with you thinking that you'd miss her and go to her, begging her to marry you."

"Well, yeah that about sums it up," I said with a slight huff, remembering how Chelsea had pissed me off with the stunt she had tried to pull on me. All she had done was erase any doubt I may have had about being sure that I didn't love her.

"I can't believe someone would stoop to that kind of shenanigan to get you to marry her. I mean even if you did love her, didn't she think about how that would feel for you, that she would hurt you by what she had done? The stunt she was trying to pull? What kind of person does that? And why does your sister want her to stand up for her at her wedding knowing what she did to you?" Bella asked in a cold harsh tone the let me know she was angry.

Bella was defending me and I loved it. She made it so easy to see that what had transpired between Chelsea and I bothered her because of how it affected me. To me, it was just another way Bella was telling me that she loved me without actually saying the words. And I wanted to make sure before we even got close to attending Alice's wedding that Bella understood completely where I stood when it came to Chelsea. I didn't want her to have any doubts at all whatsoever.

Before I began to explain to her exactly where I stood, I said, "Come here, Sweetness," while stretching my legs out in front of me and patting my thigh. She did as I asked and moved so that she was sitting sideways across my lap.

I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her hair and began to speak, "While I am not happy about what Chelsea did. I've moved on from it. Yes at the time, even though I didn't love her, I was hurt by her actions. Now I can't say from personal experience, because I have had little to no contact with Chelsea at all since we broke up. From what my sister has told me, Chelsea has changed, done a lot of growing up and has moved on herself. All I know is what Alice has chosen to share with me, but I do know Alice was very upset with her after we split and it took her a while to forgive Chelsea. According to Alice, Chelsea is married now and from what I understand very happy. Am I happy that I will have to walk down the aisle with her? No. But it's not my wedding, it is my baby sister's and it's what she wants. It's her day and so I will put on a happy face and do it out of love for my sister. Besides, I have absolutely no feelings at all whatsoever for or against or about Chelsea. To me she is nothing more than Alice's friend. So I will do what I need to do and that's that." I lifted Bella's chin so I could look into her eyes. I held her gaze, trying to convey to her just how truthful I was being and that I really meant what I said.

"No hard feelings, no nothing?" she asked watching me. I suspected she was trying to find some way to read me if she could.

"None."

"You're one hell of a man, Edward Cullen."

"You're not so bad yourself, Sweetness," I said giving her a quick peck on the lips. "So, since we are on the subject of relationships. How many serious ones have you had?"

I felt her tense instantly in reaction to my question, so I offered her the same out she had given me. "Bella, if you don't want to answer it you don't have to."

"Stealing my words, Edward?" she asked trying to lighten the conversation.

"Nope, I just don't want you to feel like you have to share anything with me that you aren't ready to."

"You were honest with me and you deserve the same honesty in return."

"Thank you," I replied, hugging her to back up my words.

"One," was the only word she uttered as she turned her focus and stared at the lake.

I remembered her telling me that it had been hard to keep a guy around because of her gift. How they would either run off once they found out or she would break up with them once she had discovered they had lied to her. However I still found it hard to believe that there had only been one person in her life that was honest enough with her to have a long term relationship. There was just so much about her to love. Her outer beauty was just the shell that held together the beautiful woman she was inside. I also remembered the guy, Garret I think his name was, she mentioned the other morning at breakfast and realized he must be the same guy she was referring to now. No wonder she was so scared of her feelings for me, she had virtually no relationship experience at all and what little she did have hadn't been good.

"Bella," I softly called her name to get her attention.

She hesitated for a moment but then turned to look at me.

"You know it doesn't matter right?" I said to her with as much love and sincerity as I possibly could. "As far as I'm concerned all the guys that lied to you or took off like a bat of hell because they couldn't handle the fact that you would know if they lied to you, well… that's their loss. They will never get to know the beautiful, wonderful woman you are. And while I pity them for never giving you a chance, I can't help but be happy because their loss is my gain. You might not be here with me now if they had taken a chance with you."

She smiled shyly and asked, "How do you do that? How do you always come up with the perfect thing to say?"

Shrugging my shoulders I said, "I don't know if it's perfect or not. I just say how I really feel or what I'm really thinking. Yes I held back on you when I didn't tell you why I was in Capri. But aside from that—Bella, everything I have said to you about how I feel for you or anything I have told you about myself is the complete honest truth."

"I'm sorry," she said.

"Sorry for what?"

"I'm sorry for not being more understanding when I learned why you were there. For not trying to see your point of view, for pushing you away afterwards and for doing it again earlier when I had that dream. There was just so much to take in all at once. Everything from discovering you were working for Emmett, to suspecting you as the accomplice, being afraid because I had been found in Italy. And on top of all that, battling with my feelings for you. I was on sensory overload and then you and Emmett forced your protection on me and that only added anger to all the confusion I was already dealing with."

"I can understand how overwhelming it must have been for you to have so much happen all at once. That's why I stepped back and let you have the space you asked for."

"I can't tell you how much it meant to me that you did that. That you gave me the space to work through things in my head and not pressure me to do it in any certain time frame."

"Like I said, I knew you had been dealt a lot to deal with."

She nodded.

"Bell a can I ask you something about this one serious relationship you had?"

After hesitating briefly she answered, "Sure."

"Will you tell me about it? It doesn't have to be now. Whenever you are ready."

"Yes. But not right now. Maybe on the way home or some other time soon. Ok?"

"If that's when you want to tell me, then that's fine with me, Sweetness."

Bella then rested her head on my chest and snuggled up against me while her fingers played with the hair at the nape of my neck. I held her as we sat there quietly just enjoying the scenery around us and taking comfort in one another's company.

At first I had been hesitant about spending this weekend with her family and I still was about some aspects of it. But spending all this time together, just the two of us today, we were clearing the air on so many things, and opening up more to each other than we ever had before. So if nothing else good came of this weekend, then I was ok with that.

I held her close to me and had begun trailing kisses up her neck and along her jaw, working my way to her sweet lips when her phone rang. She reached into her back pocket and pulled it out.

"Hello. Ok, we'll be right there." She then pushed the button to end the call. Running her hand through my hair, she said, "It's time. That was my mom; she and my dad are back at the house."

I helped her stand up and then pulled myself from the ground. We made the short walk back to her house where we found her mom and grandmother sitting on the porch swing. Both women stood and came to stand at the bottom of the back porch stairs as we approached.

Bella's mom instantly pulled her into a warm embrace much like Nana had done earlier. "How are you, baby girl?" she asked, Bella.

"I'm good," was her simple reply.

Her mother's gaze then shifted to me. Bella immediately noticed and then introduced us. "Mom, this is Edward Cullen, my boyfriend and I guess for now bodyguard too," she said smiling widely. It made my heart soar to hear her introduce me as her boyfriend, even though we had never defined our relationship with any kind of label. I noticed a huge smile on her grandmother's face as well. Bella then said, "Edward this is my mom, Renee."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Swan," I said holding my hand out to shake it. But Renee, like her mother, hugged me too and kissed my cheek.

Renee seemed very warm and caring like her mother. Bella had a resemblance to her in the shape of her face and her stature. But it was clear that Bella must have gotten her light skin tone along with her hair and eye coloring from her father. Renee's hair was more of a sandy brown color and she wasn't what I would consider dark complected, but she wasn't at all pale like Bella. I didn't think that the warm coloring she had in her skin tone came from spending time in the sun. There wasn't always an abundance of sunshine here in the northwest so it had to be her natural tone.

"It's wonderful to finally meet you too, Edward. I've heard quite a bit about you. And it's Renee please. Mrs. Swan is Bella's other grandmother." She was smiling and seemed very relaxed and happy to have us here, but the way she was looking at me so intently made me wonder if Bella's mom had the same gift as her and her grandmother.

"Where's Dad?" Bella asked.

"Right here," bellowed a deep voice coming from behind us. Bella and I both turned around to find Charlie Swan standing about five feet away from us with his hand on his holster on his police issued utility belt."

Bella wasn't kidding when she said he liked to use his profession to intimidate people. I swallowed the small lump that had formed in my throat upon hearing his voice. Bella repeated the words she had used to introduce me to her mother to her father. He shook hands with me, squeezing my hand just a little more tightly than what would be considered a firm handshake, and he also refused to let go right away. I guessed Bella's introduction cleared up any misconceptions her father would have about our relationship right away. However, instead of the warm smile and welcoming words I had received from Bella's mother, Charlie Swan remained silent as he stared at me with the same deep brown eyes that his daughter had. His unwavering glare made me feel as though he were inspecting me like a piece of missing evidence he'd been searching for to clear a major case.

All I could do now was hope he respected me and appreciated all I was doing to help keep Bella safe, and that he didn't have any qualms about our relationship. Of course there was one other thing to hope for too, that Bella was indeed right about his bark being much worse than his bite. If not this was going to be one hell of a long weekend.

**Thanks so much for reading. Can't wait to hear what you think. As always the teaser for chapter 14 will be posted on my blog Monday morning. **

**EA~  
**


	14. Never Say Never

**Happy Friday everyone. I hope this finds you all happy and well. Hope4more and My Bella you guys are amazing. Thanks for cheering me on, reeling me in when needed and for all that you do to help me put out the best chapter I possibly can. **

**Enjoy the chapter and I will see ya at the bottom of the page where I have one more note for you all to read. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all.**

_picture, you're the queen of everything  
as far as the eye can see  
under your command  
i will be your guardian  
when all is crumbling  
steady your hand_

_you can never say never  
why we don't know when  
time and time again  
younger now then we were before  
don't let me go,  
don't let me go,  
don't let me go,  
don't let me go,  
don't let me go,  
don't let me go_

_we're falling apart  
and coming together again and again  
we're coming apart  
but we pull it together  
pull it together, together again_

_**Never Say Never by The Fray**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**July 3, 2010**_

I stood there watching as my father did exactly what I told Edward he would try to do…use his profession and the fact that he was my father to intimidate him. I could see a slight nervous twitch in the muscles along Edward's jaw, but other than that he was holding his own and not letting my father unnerve him completely.

lolI knew Edward had been concerned about defining our relationship to my parents, so I thought it best to get it out of the way immediately. Once it was out in the open there would be no room for misconceptions.

After I made the introductions—and my father _finally_ released Edward's hand—I gave my father a hug. His embrace was warm and comforting, although a little tighter than normal, telling me that he had been worrying about me.

"How are you, Daddy?" I asked, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I'm good, baby girl," he replied as he returned the peck on my cheek.

"So this is the young man you met in Italy?" he asked returning his glare to where Edward was standing.

"Yes. It is. I see you've been filled in," I commented as I quirked an eyebrow in Nana's direction. She just smiled sweetly at me as I took a few steps backward and slipped my hand into Edward's. As much as I thought it was cute to see Edward squirm a little, I didn't want to let my father become an overbearing ogre.

"And you're also the man who is responsible for keeping her safe from that nut-job she helped put behind bars?" my father then inquired.

Before Edward could respond my mother jumped in saying, "Charlie, there's no need to grill the young man."

"Actually, Mrs. Sw— er, Renee, I expected that Bella's father would have questions for me regarding her safety. I really don't mind telling him anything he wants to know," Edward told my mother.

"Isabella, why don't you go visit with your mother and grandmother and let me have a word with Edward?" my father suggested.

I looked up at Edward and asked, "Is that ok with you?"

"Yes," Edward replied without hesitation.

"Ok, I'll see you inside in a little bit," I told him as I gave his hand a squeeze and then followed my mom and Nana into the house. I stopped at the door to look over my shoulder at Edward to make sure he really was ok with my dad about to interrogate him. He caught me as the two of them stood watching us enter the house, obviously waiting for the three of us women to be out of hearing range. As if he knew I needed some sense of reassurance, he winked at me before turning back around to face my father.

Entering the kitchen, I pulled out the chair at the island where Edward and I had sat just a little while ago eating lunch. I waited to see if it would be my mother or Nana who began to question me first.

I wasn't surprised when it was my mom who spoke first. She was never one to shy away from a topic if she wanted information. "Must be interesting having that gorgeous man living under the same roof as you," she chimed in a sing song voice like some love sick high school girl. She had a sly grin on her face like she was just itching to get some kind of juicy details about Edward and me. She hadn't gone to the length that Nana had when I was in Italy to try and find me a husband, but she certainly never wasted an opportunity to encourage me to have a more active social life, stating that if I never put myself out there I would never find Mr. Right. Now that she knew I had someone, I had a feeling she was going to try and pry any little detail out of me she could.

"What are you implying mother?" I asked without thinking about the huge can of worms I'd be opening when I did.

"Oh just that he's your boyfriend and your bodyguard. That must make for some interesting…um…late night conversations," she said winking at me like we were going to talk about the weather while the grin on her face grew even bigger.

"Renee," Nana said in a firm tone and a scowl, admonishing my mother for the insinuation she was making.

I let out a frustrated sigh not wanting to discuss my sex life or lack of one with my mother. She may have good intentions and only want for me to be happy, but she was going to be sadly disappointed when I refused to give her anything more than basic details. She was my mother not my best friend and I highly doubted I'd even share the more intimate details of my and Edward's relationship with even my best friend.

"What's wrong, child? You've got all kinds of conflicting emotions pouring off of you. Everything from worry, fear, frustration, nervousness. What's going on?" Nana asked. But before I could respond, my mother piped in and said, "I used to hate it when she did that to me. You could never keep how you felt about anything to yourself. She always saw right through you."

"Well you should have known better than to try and lie about things too, but you didn't," Nana snapped back at her.

Leave it to Nana to see that as much as I didn't want to, I needed to talk. And even though Edward and I had talked and I'd even shared a little with Emmett. I needed a woman to talk to. I could have called upon Rose to listen to my issues, but I knew that she'd get angry with Emmett in the process and now that I was seeing the reason behind his and Edward's insistence that I be protected, I didn't think that would be fair to Emmett.

"Are things not well with you and Edward? Is it your work, the case? Oh please tell me you are being kept safe," my mother blurted out with a sudden look of worry settling on her face.

"Yes, yes, and for the most part," I threw back at her.

It took her a few seconds to register my answers with the succession of her questions. But once she had, she immediately huffed, "What do you mean for the most part? Have you been hurt? What's going on Isabella?"

Nana came over and sat next to me while my mother sat across the island from us. Nana pulled me in her arms for a hug and then soothingly suggested, "Why don't you just tell us everything dear? Start from when you left here and went back to Seattle."

I began to explain it all to them. How I began to suspect that Edward was the accomplice and why. Nana interrupted me and asked, "Is this why you lied on the plane and in the car after we left him at his place of business?"

"Yes, I didn't want him to have any clue I was on to him if it was him, and I didn't want to worry you either," I told her.

"But obviously since then you've found out he's not or he wouldn't be here with you now. Right?" my mother asked curiously.

"Right. He was actually hired by Emmett to keep an eye on me while I was in Capri with Nana. I can't go into all the details as to why, but some things happened while I was gone concerning the case and Emmett felt it was safer to have an outsider watching over me as opposed to someone from the bureau. Thus the real reason Edward and his partner were on the island."

"So you had no idea all that time you spent with him on Capri that he was there to protect you?" my mom asked, her voice taking on a bit of a defensive tone as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"No. None whatsoever," I whispered.

Looking as if she had one of those moments where you feel like a light bulb went off inside you, or someone flipped a switch, my mother asked, "Wait…you mean you couldn't tell he was lying to you?" She immediately began looking back and forth between Nana and I, silently willing one of us to explain it to her.

"No, I couldn't tell," I said to my mother, thinking she could sympathize with me since she had grown up with Nana always being able to read everyone and she couldn't. "I haven't been able to read Edward at all. Well I shouldn't say at all, because obviously, I can read physical characteristics that any trained professional can. He never showed any outward signs of lying, but I've relied on my internal gift for so long, I hardly pay much attention to the other things anymore. So I was uncertain about him. Besides you can learn to fake the physical signs of lying."

"That must have been very hard for you to handle once you learned the truth," my mother said as she got up and came to me, offering me her support in the form of a hug.

"Yes it was. I was angry and hurt and I lashed out at him and pushed him away," I said while looking down at my hands and picking at a loose hang nail, once again feeling regret for treating Edward the way I had.

"But you've moved past it now?" my mom asked in a more chipper tone.

"We are beginning to. I put up a wall around myself and I was actually pretty cold to him at times. But he never wavered. He remained patient and supportive; giving me the space I needed to work through things in my head, in my own time." I felt a smile tugging on the corner of my lips as I thought about just how good he had been to me over the past couple of weeks.

"That's good," my mom said patting me on the arm and going back to her own seat.

"You are learning to trust your feelings for him then?" Nana asked.

"Yes. It's taken me a little while, but yes. Even when I was furious with him for not being honest with me, I missed him, missed how we were when we were on Capri and my feelings never diminished. In fact I think they became stronger when I saw that he wasn't going to give up."

"Good, that is exactly what I had hoped you'd do," Nana stated.

At first I didn't say anything about her comment. I just nodded in agreement because I knew she was right, it was exactly what I needed to do. But then it hit me, the exact words she had chosen to use. There was a lot more to her statement than what she was letting on. She had a pleased smile on her face, and an air of smugness, a sense of accomplishment, pride about her and I didn't understand why.

"What do you mean that's what you hoped I'd do? You say that like you planned this or like— " I was cut off by my own thoughts. She had known somehow. And then it occurred to me there was only way she could have known. The one thing I had never taken into consideration or even thought to ask her about. I had been so baffled by the fact that I couldn't read Edward that it never occurred to me that maybe she could.

"You knew," I said to her, my voice shaking slightly due to my state of shock over my realization and the fact that she never told me.

"Who knew what?" my mom inquired, confused by the exchanged between my grandmother and I.

Hurt and confused as to why she would keep such a thing from me, I lashed out at her, "Nana. How could you? You knew he was lying to me and you never said anything. You could read him all this time and while I was off falling in love with him, you never said a word. Why?"

"Mom, is this true?" my mother asked, her brows furrowed and her lips pursed tightly showing she was clearly as frustrated as I was.

Nana took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I could tell she was deeply contemplating her words before she answered us. I began to regret reacting so harshly towards her the moment I felt the surge of sadness rolling off of her and the sorrow in her eyes, telling me she never intended to hurt me.

I reached out and took her hand in mine and gave it a little squeeze. "Nana, please just explain it to me. I need to understand why you would keep something like this from me."

Sighing, she nodded and began to speak. "Because you needed to be able to learn to rely on what your true emotions were and not what you felt coming from others around you." She looked at me, begging me to understand with her eyes, as she took my other hand in hers. "You see, child. It was never dishonesty that I felt coming from him. I sensed that he was holding something back, hiding something, but I could also tell that it wasn't a bad thing. I sensed he felt as though he had no choice and was doing it for the right reasons. And more importantly than that, my dear, I could tell that his feelings for you were honest and true. The love emanating from that man was overwhelming and I was confident in thinking there was no way he would keep something from you that was bad. That would be harmful to you and that given time he would tell you."

Nana paused releasing my hands, she got down out of her chair and swiveled mine so that I was facing her. She cupped my face with one hand and ran her other along the length of my hair a few times like she used to do when I was a little girl and got upset. She then said in loving voice, "My dear Isabella, I love you with all my heart and I don't mean for you to think that I am unaware of how it must have hurt you to find out he had been keeping something from you. I could already feel how torn your emotions were on the way here from Italy. But tell me something, when you found out why he'd been in Capri, were you merely upset because he had kept it from you. Weren't you also mad at yourself for not being able to see it or to detect it with your gift?"

She backed up and began to move about the kitchen grabbing the things she needed to help my mother start dinner. I turned around, resting my head on my hands while rubbing my temples as I thought about what she had just asked me. Was that really why I had been so mad all along? Because I was so used to relying on my gift was I angry that I hadn't been able to do so with Edward? The more I thought about it and the realizations that I had come to about my safety and my feelings for Edward in the last few days, I knew that what she said was a part of why I had been so upset. It was true I had been very hurt Edward didn't tell me himself. And the fact of the matter was, I had felt as though I had failed myself again, like I had with Garrett, and that I had set myself up to be hurt again and it made me angry. So out of the fear of being hurt even further, I took it out on Edward. I tried to push him away as a defense mechanism to protect myself. But he wouldn't let me. He somehow saw through my anger and still believed I cared for him while he waited for me to come to the same realization.

"I guess I never really looked at it like that before," I admitted before asking, "So you've really been able to read him all along?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry if I hurt you by keeping this from you, dear. However, I was pretty sure from the conversations we had while at my house, you would never believe in your feelings for him or his for you until you were allowed to trust in them on your own. I hope that you can forgive me, I only want what's best for you."

While I had heard those words or similar ones so much lately and I had become tired of everyone making choices for me based on what they thought was best for me, I could now understand that it was done out of their love for me and not because they didn't think I was capable of taking care of myself.

"Yes I forgive you," I said to her as she pulled me into a tight embrace.

Nana continued to hug me tightly as she kissed the side of my head and whispered, "Ti amo, la mia nipotina bella," into my ear. I smiled remembering its meaning, "I love you, my beautiful granddaughter," she had said it to me often over the years.

As the three of us set about making dinner, I told them as much as I could about everything else that had happened since my return to Seattle. Neither of them was happy to hear about my recent visit to the hospital.

After I had yawned a few times, my mother shooed me out of the kitchen and told me to go lay down in my room. Glancing at the clock on my nightstand, I noticed that it had been nearly an hour since we had left Edward outside with my dad. I grabbed one of the throw pillows off my bed and walked over to the window seat that overlooked the yard.

I sat there with my head propped against the pillow, wrapping my hair around my fingers to calm my nerves as I watched my father and Edward talk down in the yard. I knew my father would appreciate all that Edward was doing to protect me. Whether or not he'd admit it to Edward was a whole different story. But what I didn't know was how he'd react to the fact that we were together romantically. I wondered if Edward would declare his feelings for me to my father and subsequently how my father would react to that declaration. I had never brought any man home to meet my parents so this was as new to them as it was to me.

Looking through the window at them, I could tell at times their discussion was serious but not heated or angry at all. My father was not showing any signs of wanting to shoot Edward or cause him any kind of harm due to our relationship. And that was a good thing. So for now all I could do was assume that their discussion was going well.

As I sat there perched in my favorite spot in my room, I thought about everything Edward and I had talked about the past couple of days. Edward wasn't wasting any time in fulfilling my request for us to learn more about each other and I was glad. I was also happy he hadn't hesitated in answering any of the questions I'd thrown at him.

It had been such a relief for him to tell me pretty much the exact same story about his relationship with his ex and for him to view her now as nothing more than Alice's friend. My conversation with his sister had been nagging at me since that night back in his office. I knew Alice hadn't been lying to me when she told me about Edward's relationship with Chelsea, but I wasn't so sure if she was as accurate as she thought she was. It turned out she was, and even though I knew she hadn't been lying, I guess part of me wanted to hear it from Edward himself.

Edward didn't appear to be the type of man to lead someone on so I'd had a hard time accepting that he didn't love her. I may not to have been able automatically know if he was lying or read his emotions, but I was learning to read his expressions and body language. So when he looked into my eyes after he'd told me about Chelsea, I could see that he was being completely sincere.

While lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized my dad and Edward had come inside until I heard the sound of the screen door banging shut. Figuring I should go see how Edward had faired with my father, I got up from my comfy spot and made my way back downstairs.

Walking into the kitchen, I found my dad handing Edward a bottle of beer. My mom was setting the table and Nana was placing the last of the food on the table. As we started passing the different dishes around the table, my mom and Nana began their own interrogation of Edward. When my mom asked him where he was from he told her about Chicago and how they had moved to Seattle the summer before he started high school. He explained how he had met Emmett his freshman year when they both made the freshman baseball team and how they had been good friends until their career choices took them in different directions, only catching up with each other once Edward had been back in Seattle after leaving the Army.

With all the questions that had been thrown at Edward and me, dinner had gone by amazingly fast. The food was delicious and it had been a very pleasant experience. Although, I did think my mom was a bit frustrated that Edward had already heard all the embarrassing things she tried to tell him about my childhood. She playfully scolded me for stealing all her fun, saying that I had finally brought a man home for them to meet and he'd already heard all the gory details about me. I was extremely grateful she wasn't able to think up any of the stories I hadn't shared since my father was once again called off to handle something at the station. He hadn't been too happy about it and left muttering something about if it turned out to be the same group of kids he had been dealing with all week; he was going to arrest them this time.

With dinner over and my dad gone, I insisted that Edward and I would clean up since my mom and Nana had done all the cooking. Neither of the women protested at all. As they hurried out of the kitchen already murmuring to each other, I suspected their topic of conversation would be heavily centered on Edward and me.

Edward and I were nearly done cleaning up and I was standing at the sink washing the few dishes that wouldn't fit in the dishwasher, when I felt his hands on my hips and his warm breath through the hair on the back of my neck. I hadn't heard him come back in from taking out the bag of trash so he was able to sneak up behind me.

"Hi," he whispered in my ear.

"Hi," I said to him as I leaned my head back on his shoulder and let my body relax against his.

Resting his head on mine, Edward said, "Your grandmother really is an amazing cook."

"That she is," I agreed. "So I see you survived the inquisition from my father. How bad was he?" I asked as I picked up the dishtowel to dry my hands and turned around to face him.

"Actually it wasn't that bad at all. He's very concerned about your safety. He knows what kind of nut-jobs there are in this world having seen some of them himself in his line of work. He had a lot of questions about what Emmett and I were doing to keep you safe. And while he agrees with everything we have done so far, I don't think he was too pleased to learn that I am living with you right now."

I snorted at Edward's last statement, imaging what must have been going through my father's head when he found that out.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked.

"I can only imagine what kind of response he had to that knowledge."

"Well he told me that he expected me to treat you respectfully and not take advantage of the situation. And he hoped that in doing so it meant we were sleeping in separate beds."

"He said that to you?" I blurted out a little louder than I had meant to, causing Edward to clamp his hand over my mouth while he began to laugh at me.

Peeling his hand off my mouth, I huffed, "What? You think it's funny? I'm a grown woman, Edward. I'm twenty five years old and if I want to share my bed with a man, my father hardly has any say in the matter," I stated while giving Edward a light shove against his chest.

He caught my arm and pulled me against him, holding me tightly to his chest. "No, I don't think it's funny. But I do understand where he is coming from, Sweetness. I think that even though he doesn't like it, he realizes how necessary it is right now. I remember how I felt when I learned my best friend was sleeping with my baby sister, and I clearly remember my father's reaction to such news as well. While neither of us were privy to the intimate details of their sex life, when my sister moved in with Jasper it was hard not to think anything other than they were being intimate. Not to mention my sister has a big mouth and tends to let things slip here and there that left no chance of misconstruing that fact. With that being said, I can only imagine how I'd feel if it were my daughter instead of my sister. Twenty five or not, you are still his baby girl."

I nodded in understanding and then asked, "So I'm assuming you confirmed for him that we were indeed in separate beds?"

"Yes I did. But that doesn't mean that I agree with him or that I don't have hopes to one day share a bed with you again," he answered. Before I could respond, his mouth was on mine kissing me hard and with passion, showing me exactly how much he meant the words he had just said. And as much as my head was screaming that I wasn't ready to take that step with him again, my body was betraying me on every level, screaming equally as loud for me to give in to him and the pleasure I knew I'd find in his bed.

Hearing my dad's police cruiser pull into the driveway through the open kitchen window, was enough to rein us in. Breaking the kiss, Edward backed up slightly and kissed my forehead. He then quickly excused himself to go use the restroom. I had a feeling it was more because he needed a few minutes to calm himself down.

I finished wiping of the counters and then made my way into the living room, where Nana and my mother were giving my dad grief over the fact he came home with a bag from the grocery store containing three different flavors of ice cream.

He hadn't been gone long on his run to the station and my mom accused him of faking the call from the station just to get out of the house so he could buy the frozen treat which was his favorite. After everyone indulged in a bowl of the ice cream, Nana was the first one to turn in for the night.

Edward and my father subjected my mother and I to what seemed like a never ending amount of sports chatter until the baseball game was finally over. My parents then called it a night as well, knowing that my brother and his family would be here early in the morning. I had no doubt that my nephew Landon would be eager for the fireworks show in the park.

With my parents off to bed, I scooted closer to Edward on the couch and rested my head on his shoulder. He draped his arm around me and slowly rubbed his hand up and down my arm.

"You're tired," he said.

"Mmmhmm, how can you tell?"

"Mmm, how about the fact that you can hardly keep your eyes open?"

I giggled softly and mumbled, "You noticed that huh?"

"Yep. Come on, Sweetness. It's time to get some sleep." He stood and held his hand out to me to help me up from the couch.

"But I don't wanna get up," I whined from where I had let myself flop over on the couch once he had stood up.

"Ok, hop on and I'll carry ya up," he said, turning his back to me.

I grabbed onto the back pocket of his jeans and pulled myself back up into a sitting position and then stood on the couch so that I could climb onto his back. He held my right leg in place when I hitched it on his hip and held on to his shoulders to bring my left leg up onto his other hip. No sooner than I was in place, he bent over to pick up the TV remote to turn off the screen, leaving me thinking he was going to drop me and squealing like a baby pig.

"You better be quiet or your dad is going to be out here with his gun thinking I am doing inappropriate things to you," Edward chastised me playfully as he stood up straight, tightening his hold on my legs and heading for the stairs.

As Edward carried me up the stairs, I burrowed my head against his neck while resting it on his shoulder. I tried to inhale as deeply as I could and savor his natural scent without being obvious. The real thing smelt even better than his sheets had yesterday and I found myself torn between fighting the urge to kiss his neck and wanting to cling to him as I fell asleep.

Reaching my room much faster than I would have liked, Edward was laughing as he dumped me on my back onto my bed. He obviously thought the way he choose to put me down was funny.

"That was mean." I pouted and swatted him on the arm.

"Oh poor baby," he teased. Crawling up on the bed beside me, he grabbed both my arms and hiked his leg over me so he was straddling me. While pinning me to the bed, he let his head drop onto my shoulder and remained there, hovering over me without saying a word.

The silence continued as neither one of us said anything. It was as if we were both absorbing the closeness of each other for as long as we could. Memories of the last time we had been in a similar position flooded my mind. It would be so easy to turn my head and press my lips to his neck and start something that would surely leave us both with fresh memories to smile about. But this wasn't the time or the place. I had only introduced him to my parents today and while there was a good chance they'd never know, the slightest risk of it was enough to squelch any ideas I may have had of giving myself to him again.

Eventually after taking a deep breath he inched back and his soft warm lips were on mine, leaving behind a sweet lingering kiss. He then kissed my forehead and whispered, "Good night, Sweetness," and was across the room shutting the door as he left.

After changing into an old t-shirt and pair of shorts, I made my way down the hall to the bathroom so I could wash my face and get a drink of water. As I made my way back to my room, I could see a soft light flickering from under the door, telling me he was probably still awake and watching TV.

"Good night, my love," I whispered softly so only I could hear it as I brushed my hand ever so lightly against the door to his room before turning to enter into my own. Then shutting my door until it was open only a few inches, I quietly padded across my room and crawled into bed looking forward to tomorrow.

_**July 4, 2010**_

I was apparently the last one sleeping the next morning and was rudely awakened to my four year old nephew tickling the bottom of my foot with a feather that must have been plucked from the imitation Indian headdress he was wearing. He was being egged on by my brother and Edward from where they stood in my doorway.

I felt as though I hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Despite not being able to remember waking up at all, I was still tired. Resisting the urge to order Landon to stop, I jerked my foot back up under the covers and mumbled something about it being too early to be playing cops and robbers. My brother Alec took the opportunity to encourage my nephew to tickle my nose with the feather and to get me up.

"Please, Auntie Bella. I don't hardly get to see you," Landon begged in the cutest little voice I had ever heard.

I rolled over and peeked up at him with just one eye open, right as he was about to lower the feather to my nose again. "Look look, Daddy, she opened her eye. She's awake," he exclaimed turning to face his father while jumping up and down in a fit of giggles.

Taking advantage of the fact he wasn't facing me any longer, I leaned in for the sneak attack and grabbed him and pulled him up on the bed with me. Once I had him sufficiently wrapped in the blanket so he couldn't squirm his way out of my grasp, I blew raspberries on his neck causing him to erupt in a chorus of giggles and ear piercing screeches. Gasping for air, he tried to call out to his father for help. But Alec stood there laughing with Edward as Landon continued to plead.

His cries must have finally carried downstairs because my mother was standing in the room telling me to let the boy breathe. After a few more well placed tickles, I relented and let him go. He quickly scampered across the bed into my mother's arms.

"Grandma, you saved me," he panted.

"It seems I did," she chuckled as he wrapped his little arms around her neck. "Why don't we go downstairs and see if Nana is done baking those chocolate chip cookies and let Aunt Bella and Mr. Edward get dressed?" my mother suggested.

He nodded vigorously as they made their way out of the room, followed by my brother.

I rolled over and pulled the covers back over my head, still not quite ready to drag myself out of bed. However, when I felt the bed shift behind me, I rolled onto my back and peeked out from under the covers.

"Good morning, Sweetness," Edward said with a half smile playing on his lips.

"Morning," I mumbled while rubbing my eyes and trying to force myself to wake up.

Instead of the happy smiling face and sparkling green eyes I was expecting, Edward's facial expression was full of worry and I could see the same emotion reflected in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" I asked as I reached out to brush my hand against his.

Sighing he said, "I think I'm the one who should be asking you that."

Confused by his statement I sat up and asked, "What do you mean you should be asking me that?"

He had a look of being slightly shocked on his face. "Bella, do you not remember what happened last night?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't remember screaming and crying in your sleep?"

"No." I slumped back against the headboard of my bed, completely taken aback by his question. "When? What time?"

"Sometime around three this morning. I woke up thirsty and went downstairs to get a bottle of water from the fridge. On my way back up the stairs I heard you. It's a wonder you didn't wake the whole house up. You were tossing and turning back and forth in the bed when I made it here to your room. I held you until you calmed down. Well that is after you quit trying to beat the shit out of me. And once you did, you looked right at me with your eyes wide open. I thought for sure you had woken up. I guess I was wrong. But at least after that you slept fine the rest of the night."

"That's weird; I've never done that before," I said rubbing my forehead trying hard to remember any of the details about what he had told me.

"Do you remember what you were dreaming about?" he asked me.

"No. I don't recall having any dreams at all. But I suppose that could be why I still feel as though I hardly got any sleep."

"Have you ever had night terrors before? Like maybe when you were little?"

"Nope, never."

"Never say never, maybe you simply don't remember them. From what I remember when Alice had them, you usually don't recall them."

"You sister had night terrors?"

"Yeah she was about seven. It was when we still lived in Chicago. It was summer time and we were in St. Louis visiting my Aunt Liz and Uncle Tony when their house was hit by a tornado. Alice slept with my parents for a few weeks afterwards. But even that didn't stop the dreams. I think my parents were told that they are a common occurrence after going through a traumatic event."

"Wow, so was your aunt's house damaged by the tornado?"

"Yeah, their entire roof was ripped off the house and dropped in their neighbor's pool.

"Geez, no wonder Alice was traumatized."

"Sweetness," he said, his voice soft and heavy with concern as he scooted closer to me and began running his fingers through the tangled mess my hair was. "I think what happened to you this past week in that house was just as traumatizing, if not more so. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if that had something to do with your dreams. Especially after the one you had yesterday in the car."

"And Alice never remembered having them?"

"Nope." He got up to leave the room and I grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Wait, you said you held me and that I slept the rest of the night after I calmed down. How do you know that?"

"Because I stayed in here with you the rest of the night."

"Did—you stayed here in my bed with me?" He had a sly smirk on his face and I was sure he was going to tell me that was exactly what he had done. _Shit. I hope my father didn't find us like that._

Sitting back down on the bed next to me, he tapped me on the nose with his finger and said, "Because once I was pretty sure you were sleeping peacefully again, I slept in your window seat the rest of the night so I would be here in case you had another dream."

I glanced over my shoulder and sure enough there in the window seat was the throw blanket that had been draped over the back of my rocking chair.

"That must have been incredibly uncomfortable," I said smoothing back the hair that had flopped over on to his forehead.

"It was the only way I thought it would be safe to stay in here with you without risking my life," he chuckled.

"Well thank you. I guess I should add personal dream catcher to your many list of talents."

"Anything for you, Sweetness," he said getting up again and making it to the door before turning around and saying, "Your nephew is cute. He was dying to wake you up from the moment they got here."

"Yeah, he is pretty adorable."

"So is his Auntie Bella," he said flashing that lopsided grin that I loved, as he winked and left the room.

_Damn man could make me swoon with nothing more than a smile and a wink._

As soon as I heard his door close, I jumped out of bed and dug through my bag to find my clothes for the day. The sun was shining so it looked like it was going to be a perfect day. I gathered my robe and toiletries and hurried down the hall to the bathroom so I could be through with my morning ritual and get downstairs and see my family.

Once I was dressed and done pulling my hair up into a ponytail, I laced up the new pair of Converse high tops I had found a few months ago. The body part of the shoe was wide red and white stripes and the tongue was blue with white stars like the American Flag. I then shoved my cell phone into the back pocket of my denim Capri pants and made my way downstairs.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

"Good morning, Daddy," I said to him as I gave him a peck on the cheek.

My sister-in-law Jane was at the table with Landon, my mom, and Nana, while my dad, my brother Alec, and Edward were sitting at the kitchen island. My dad and Edward had sections of the morning paper in one hand and cups of coffee in the other. Alec was busy eating some of Nana's fresh baked cookies with his coffee.

I grabbed the milk out of the fridge and as I opened the cabinet I couldn't help smiling when I saw a new box of Lucky Charms cereal. It was my favorite. It made me smile to think after all these years my mom still remembered.

I carried the items to the table and sat down next to Jane. I ate quietly as I listened to Jane and my mom chat about baby names her and Alec were considering and whether or not they were going to find out the sex of the baby this time since they hadn't found out with Landon.

Once I was finished eating I went over to place my bowl in the sink. As I was rinsing my bowl in the sink, Landon came over tugging on the hem of my shirt and asked, "Aunt Bella, will you play ball with Grandpa, daddy and me? Grandpa needs someone else on his team."

"Um, you know what? Aunt Bella is not very good at playing sports, but I bet Edward will play if you ask him." I looked up at Edward, knowing that he had heard Landon ask me to play. He nodded ever so slightly letting me know that he would not disappoint my nephew.

"Will you go with me to ask him?" Landon asked, looking over his shoulder at Edward.

"Yep, I sure will," I told him as I took his hand and walked with him the short distance to where Edward was sitting.

As we stopped next to Edward, he pretended to be reading the paper and totally oblivious to what Landon wanted to ask him, but I could see the corner of his mouth twitching as he fought back a smile.

Landon reached up and tapped Edward on the arm. "Mr. Edward, will you play ball with us?"

No longer fighting back his urge to smile, Edward looked down at my nephew and said, "Well, Landon, I would love to play ball with you. But I need you to do me a favor first."

Landon looked up at Edward like he had three heads, causing us all to laugh as we watched the little guy getting confused over what it could possibly be that Edward wanted.

"Um ok," Landon finally answered him.

"Well I will play ball with you if you would call me Edward instead of Mr. Edward. That is if it is ok with your parents."

Landon instantly looked over at his father sitting on the other side of the kitchen island. Alec nodded and Landon smiled so brightly you could have lit the whole town of Forks, it was so bright.

"He's says it's ok. So will you play?"

"I would love to," Edward told him.

We all went outside to watch the guys play ball. I sat down on the porch steps with Jane to spend some time with her, catching up on how she was.

"I hear this is a big deal for you," Jane said as she nodded towards Edward.

"Yeah, I guess it kinda is."

"Kinda?" she asked. "Alec said you have never before brought a guy home to meet your parents."

"Alec has a big mouth," I said sarcastically, causing us both to giggle. She knew I was right; she had been married to him for five years and with him for even longer than that.

We spent the next hour or so chatting. I had been so worried about how this weekend was going to go and now it amazed me how seamlessly Edward was fitting in with my family as if he were always meant to be here.

By the time the guys were done playing ball it was time for lunch. While the rest of us ate a quick lunch Alec ran to get Jane the chilidog loaded with onions and jalapeños she was craving. Since the rest of us had finished by the time Alec had arrived back with Jane's food, I took Landon up stairs and read him a book until he fell asleep, allowing Jane and Alec to eat their lunch.

Just as I was about to get up and go back down stairs Jane entered the room ready for a nap herself. Leaving them to rest, I headed back downstairs. With my mom, dad and Nana busy doing their own thing I headed outside to look for Edward and Alec. They were busy talking as they played a game of darts so I sat on the porch swing while watching them and enjoying the nice weather.

A few minutes later, I heard the screen door squeak as it opened and saw my dad walking across the porch towards me with two beers in his hands. He sat next to me and handed one of the bottles to me. He didn't immediately say anything and had a look of concentration on his face as if he were thinking about what he wanted to say. I could fee love and concern radiating from him and maybe a little bit of nervousness as well. With all those emotions coming from him, I was certain that he either wanted to talk about the case, Edward or both.

Then out of nowhere my father shocked me by saying, "You love him." It wasn't a question, he just stated it like he would the score to the last baseball game he had watched.

I was shocked that this was how he chose to start the conversation and because of that I had a hard time responding, "What... how—" I couldn't get anything else out before he was chuckling at my inability to form a complete sentence.

"You just met him yesterday, Dad," I finally got out.

"Wasn't hard to figure out, baby girl. I can see it in the way you watch every move he makes and he you. The sparkle you get in your eye. It's not the first time I've seen that look," he said putting his arm around me and giving me a gentle loving squeeze.

I rested my head on his shoulder and then asked, "Mom?"

"Yes, she used to have the same look on her face while watching me. However, she never knew until much later that I was watching her too. And if you watch closely enough, you'll catch him looking over here watching you when he thinks you aren't looking."

"He is?" I thought I had seen it a couple of times, but I wasn't sure. But if my dad had noticed it as well, then I wasn't imagining it.

"Yes. He loves you too, ya know."

"I know. But how do you?" I asked still a bit stunned that my father was so in tune with what was going on between Edward and I.

"Well as I told you, I see it in his actions and he told me as much yesterday. The question is do you really know it?" he asked as if he didn't think I realized it or truly believed it.

"Yes. I had a hard time accepting it when he first told me. It wasn't exactly the best time in our relationship when he made it known. It's taken me some time but I am seeing things much more clearly now. Why?"

"If you love him and you know he loves you, then what are you waiting for? I see how you two are interacting. Your feelings for each other are clear, but yet there is also a distance between you," he said while nudging me to sit up and look at him. As a seasoned police officer he wasn't too bad at reading people himself.

"I'm scared," I whispered.

"Scared of being loved? Isabe—"

"No," I interrupted him. "Scared of being hurt. He lied to me, Daddy."

"Look at me, Isabella," he commanded. He had used the same tone of voice when giving me a lecture as a child.

Clasping my hand between both of his, he continued. "There are lies and then there are lies. I am not going to try and pretend to understand what it_'s_ like to have this gift, or in my opinion _curse,_ that you and your grandmother share. The bottom line is there is sometimes a need to lie. Don't you ever deceive people in your job to obtain information you might need to solve a case? If you thought you were doing it out of absolute necessity to protect someone you love, would you lie then and would it be acceptable to you?"

"Yes," I answered him without even having to think about it. I had lied in my line of work; it happened all the time and I knew that he knew it happened. Our jobs weren't that different, just on a different scale. And I also knew if it meant protecting him, my mother, or someone else I loved, I'd lie without giving it a second thought.

My father took a long pull of his beer and then said, "I felt Edward was completely honest with me when he told me about his failure to be completely up front with you. But he didn't lie to you to be deceitful or to hurt you. He kept information from you because he was trying to protect you. He's still trying to protect you. There is a tremendous difference. Your mother told me what your grandmother kept from you. You forgave her immediately once she explained herself. It's not always going to be black and white. Do you understand that?"

"I'm beginning too," I answered and I really was. Even before today it had been something I was becoming increasingly aware of, especially over the last few days. It was something I guess I had always known; I had just never applied to my own personal life before so I never really thought about it.

"I hope you are. Because even though I may not know him very well, I know your grandmother approves of him, I remember what it was like trying to earn her approval. It doesn't come easily, even if she can read you. I often thought she was worse than your grandfather."

I laughed lightly at his admission. I didn't have very many memories of my grandfather, but I could see Nana being fiercely protective of my mother. Especially with her ability to tell what my father was feeling and if he was being truthful.

"I bet that was a tough feat to accomplish. You said Nana approves of Edward. Does that mean you've talked to her about him?"

"Yes. I've heard quite a bit about him. The flowers he sent you and how happy you were while on Capri." He paused for a second and after clearing his throat went on to say, "I've also heard how he kept you overnight in a hotel room."

"Dad, I'm an adu—"

"I know you are an adult, Isabella. I realize that you are twenty-five years old. I may not like it and although you will always be my baby girl, I am not going to lecture you on that aspect of your private life. But what I will tell you, and what I want you to give some serious thought to is…any man who is willing to set aside everything in his life to protect yours, to make keeping you safe the number one priority in his life…well... if that's not love, then I don't know what is. You are aware that we talked yesterday, and I can tell you with one hundred percent certainty, he's not doing it because he has to and not because it's his job. Edward is doing it because he can't bear the thought of anything happening to you. It's because he wants to, because he needs to keep you safe. It's because he loves you."

My father got up and turned to walk away, but then stopped and turned back to face me. "Make sure you think about what I've said today

I nodded and just before he was out of reach, I grabbed his hand to stop him from walking away. I got up and gave him a hug and then said, "Thank you, Daddy."

"For what?" he asked.

"For telling me what I needed to hear. For being the best dad in the world," I mumbled against his chest.

"Just doing my job, Bells," he said. He then hugged me back and after kissing the top of my head, he told me, "Don't keep him waiting too long." He then left, heading back into the house.

As I turned to go sit back on the porch swing, I couldn't resist glancing in Edward's direction. This time though, it was blatantly clear he was watching me. At some point during my conversation with my father, Alec must have gone inside and Edward was now leaning against the old maple tree, taking in my every move. He smiled coyly as our eyes met.

Feeling an instant and undeniable pull to him, I quickly made my way off the porch and across the yard to where he was.

Stopping right in front of him, I leaned against the tree, nearly mirroring his stance. I felt an incredible urge to touch him. Reaching out I hooked my fingers around the belt loops of his cargo shorts and pulled him closer to me so I could rest my forehead on his chest. His arms were immediately encasing me and urging me closer until we were completely leaning into one another. I sighed noticing for the first time how perfectly we fit together. My head came to rest just under his chin as I snuggle against him. In that moment I felt so safe, so wanted and so loved and like in his arms was where I was supposed to be. But I was also a bit overwhelmed by not only my conversation with Nana yesterday, but by the one I had just had with my father.

"What's got you so wound up?" he asked as his hands trailed up and down my back.

"Just feeling a little overwhelmed."

"About what?" he asked kissing the top of my head.

"Nothing about this weekend is going as I thought it would or even how I feared it would."

"What do you mean?"

"It's gone so much better than I could have hoped. I was worried about my father's reaction to us being together, and now I'm not even sure why. I guess other than the fact that I've never brought anyone home for them to meet before."

"Ok. So I'm still not sure I understand why you're feeling so overwhelmed. It seems to me that you'd be relieved that your father appears to have accepted our relationship rather well."

"About that I am relieved. But that is actually part of it. You have just fit in so well. Like you were meant to be here. My father has accepted us, my mother, my brother, Jane and my nephew all seem to love you. Well I don't know if my brother loves you, but you know what I mean and we already knew Nana did," I snickered softly. "It appears that I was the only one who was failing to see that. Did you know that Nana has been able to read you all along?" I asked looking up at him.

"She can?" he asked shocked.

"Yes. She told me last night when you were outside talking with my dad."

"And you had no idea?"

"Nope," I said popping the p as I did.

"So does that mean she knew that I had lied to you?"

"Yes. And at first I was angry with her for not telling me. But once she explained her reasons, I understood and now I am actually grateful."

"How so?" he asked

I took a few minutes and gave him the short version of the conversation, including telling him that the reason I was grateful was because if she had told me and I had found out then that he had lied to me I probably would have ended things with him right then and there and it would be over. But because of her forcing me to learn to trust in my own feelings, it turned out for the better.

"Remind me to first of all apologize to your grandmother for putting her in the position of keeping something from you. And secondly to thank her as well. I know it's contradictory, but if she hadn't then we wouldn't be here now, and I will forever be grateful to her for that."

"I can understand what you mean."

"Good. And, Bella, thank you for not completely shutting me out of your life. You could have ended things for us. But you didn't and it means the world to me that you now trust your feelings for me. That you aren't hiding from them anymore."

Edward pulled me with him around to the other side of the tree which was just wide enough to block us from being seen from the house.

"Bella," he said cupping his hand around the base of my neck.

I looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. They were shining with love. "I love you," he whispered not giving me a chance to respond before leaning over to claim my mouth with his. I melted against him and relished in the feel of his lips pressed against mine. As he continued to kiss me, his arm slid around my waist, pulling me even closer to him. At the same time, his hand at the base of my neck moved up and knotted around my ponytail, tugging on it enough to slant my head so he could deepen the kiss and slip his tongue past my now parted lips.

He moved to stand between my legs, pressing me between him and the tree. And it was heaven. My body was flooded with desire and I knew that it was only a matter of time before I wouldn't be able to hold myself back physically any longer. Not only was I feeling the effects of our passionate kisses, but with him pressed so tightly against me I could feel exactly what it was doing to him as well. My hands glided over his chest and kept going until they were tugging on the hair at the base of his head. I hadn't meant to but losing myself in our kiss, I tugged harder than I had before. It caused him to moan and pull away panting, as he trailed kisses down my neck and back up to my mouth. We were kissing again with even more fervor than before. His hands slid down my back until he was cupping my ass and grinding himself into me.

And then the screen door on the porch slammed shut, harshly bringing our impromptu make out session to a grinding halt. I was afraid to peek around the tree and see who had come outside. Neither one of us wanted to move yet as we were still trying to catch our breath and calm ourselves down.

"Bella," I heard Alec call.

"Shit," Edward cursed.

"What?" I whispered.

"Don't you think your brother will take one look at us and know what we were doing?"

"Oh, I'm sure he will but no worries, I got this covered."

"You do?" he asked curiously.

"Yes. Did you notice the window at the end of the hall from where my room is?" I asked.

"Yeah, but what has that got to do with anything?"

"Look," I said as I moved and pointed to the trellis scaling the back wall of the house. A trellis which just so happened to end just under the window I had asked Edward about.

His gaze followed to where my finger was pointing to. I could see the moment he put it all together in his head. "No way," he chuckled.

"Oh yes. I can't tell you how many nights my dear sister-in-law climbed that trellis and went through that window."

Edward snorted loudly, alerting Alec to where we were.

"Oh there you two are," he said as he came walking around the side of the tree.

"Yep, whatcha need?" I asked trying to sound as nonchalant as I could.

He had a knowing smirk on his face as he informed us it would soon be time to head to the park. Edward and I started to follow him into the house so I could grab a jacket and use the restroom before we left.

Alec was about to climb the stairs to the porch when he turned around and said, "Oh, you might want to fix your hair before dad sees you, little sister."

I immediately reached up to touch my hair not knowing what he was talking about at first. But as my hands hit my ponytail and felt how messed up it was from Edward pulling on it, Alec began to laugh at me.

"You should see your face," he said as he watching me pull the elastic band out of my hair and attempt to make my hair once again presentable.

"Oh yeah? Well get that smile off your face or maybe Mom and Dad would like to know the workout Jane used to give that old trellis."

"What?" he asked trying to feign innocence.

"Oh can the act, Alec. You're lucky Mom and Dad didn't ever hear the noises I did coming out of your room sometimes. Why do you think I used to hum the theme music to _Spiderman _when she came over?"

"Fuck," he muttered.

"Ugh huh, I'm sure you did," I retorted as Edward and I moved past him up the stairs.

Back in the house, Edward and I made sure we had all of our things packed up since we had decided to drive back to Seattle tonight after the fireworks. We were going to have dinner with his parent's tomorrow night where I would get my turn at meeting the parents. At least for me his sister and Jasper would be there and since I had already met them, I hoped it would be a little easier.

Soon we were all ready to head to the park. Ironically we choose a spot next to the same oak tree that Edward and I had sat under yesterday. After we were finished eating, it was still too light out for the show to begin so Edward and I took Landon to the playground. Landon and I got the better end of the deal as we let Edward push us both on the swings. He didn't really seem to mind though. Once we were done swinging, Edward and I watched as Landon climbed on the monkey bars until it was nearly dark.

We got back to the others with just a short amount of time to spare before the fireworks began. When the show began, Edward leaned back against the tree and I sat between his out-stretched legs while resting against him. We even snuck in a few chaste kisses when we were certain no one was looking. The fireworks show was better than I had ever remembered it being or maybe it was just the company I was keeping this year.

The show came to an end with a chorus of thunderous booms and bright lights flashing across the sky and reflecting off the lake, making an absolutely beautiful display.

After walking the short distance back to the house, Edward got our bags from where we left them in the front entry way and we went about saying our goodbyes to everyone.

My parents walked us to the car and as I was hugging my mother, Edward was shaking my father's hand. We then switched places and I hugged my father and Edward did the same to my mom. As Edward walked around to open the passenger door for me, my father stopped him and clasped him firmly on the arm.

"I like you son, but just remember that's my baby girl. I'm putting my trust in you to take care of her and I believe that you will. But just in case, you need to remember that I have a license to carry a gun and there will be no place to hide if you hurt her."

But what Edward said next shocked the shit out of me. "Sir, I have no intention of ever hurting her. But if I do, well I'll be more than happy to let you shoot me." My dad nodded and started to back away when Edward then added, "Oh and Sir?"

"Yeah," my father said.

"I don't mean any disrespect, but I've got a license to carry a gun too."

"Edward," I hissed, not knowing how in the world my father was going to respond to Edward's comment.

At first I thought it was going to be bad. My father kept a stern hard expression on his face, but then a wide smile broke out and he said, "It's ok, Bella. He's just proved he's not afraid of me. If he can do that after only having just met me, then I feel even better knowing that he is looking after you."

I was greatly relieved when my dad then started laughing and my mom looked at me and said, "He's a keeper, Bella."

I managed to stay awake for the entire ride back to Seattle. But once we were home I was exhausted and was out almost the instant my head hit the pillow. However my sleep was anything but peaceful. I was in the midst of having a similar dream as the one I had in the car on the way to Forks.

I was in the house we searched and it was as if I was lost, like the house was a maze of doors and I couldn't find my way out. I was screaming for Edward and then a door slammed shut behind me and I turned around to find James Reynolds standing there. Just as he reached out to grab me, I let out an ear piercing scream and next thing I knew, I was being awoken to find Edward holding me in his arms, rocking me and telling me that everything was ok.

When I had calmed down enough, Edward loosened his hold on me and was about to get up when I pulled on his t-shirt and said, "Stay, hold me. Don't let me go."

"I won't, Sweetness. Not ever," he whispered as he pulled the covers up over the both of us and held me in his arms where I once again felt safe and was able to drift back to sleep.

**There ya go. I hope you all enjoyed Nana's secret and the talk Charlie had with Bella. I have a feeling some of you may have been looking forward to Charlie giving Edward a hard time, but I just didn't see it that way. Edward has given up pretty much his whole life as he knew it to keep her safe and I think any good dad would respect and welcome that. We always read about how Bella fits perfectly into Edward's family like she was meant to be there and I wanted to turn the tables a bit and have it be Edward who fits seamlessly into her family. I think it is something she needed to see to help her along in fully accepting and realizing the depth of her feelings for Edward. **

**One last thing before I go, I wanted to give a shout out for a couple of fics I think you will truly love. **

_**The Greatest Gift **_**by les16. This is a story like none I have ever read on fan fic and let me tell ya I have read a lot. Not only is it well written, but it is has a story plot that I haven't seen anywhere on the three sites I have read fan fic stories. It is only two chapters in, so the perfect time to head on over and take a peek at it. **

_**Remember Me**_** by NoelleSeven is also something different from what I have seen. Also well written and very intriguing. This one will have you trying to figure it out from the get go. This one is only three chapters in so again great time to start reading it. **

**I promise you won't be disappointed with either one. **

**Thanks for reading, as always there will be a teaser to the next chapter on my blog by Monday morning. **

**~EA~**


	15. Love You Out Loud

**Happy Friday! I just want to get in a few thank you's and then I will let you all get to the chapter. My Bella and Hope4more, in case I don't say it enough, thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**I apologize for not replying to all of your wonderful reviews to the last chapter. I had an unusually busy week and wasn't able to get to them. But I can assure you they were all read and I love and appreciate each and every one of them. ****Your words are what keeps me writing and makes it all worth while.  
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**With that said, I also want to thank a few friends, medusainny, les16, anonymouslysufferingfromOCD, NoelleSeven, btrflyongreyst41, bnjwl and alicetheannopyinglittlepixie. Thank you for all that you do for me. You guys, along with Hope4more and My Bella,encourage me, support me, update the play list on my blog for me, make blinkies for me, pictures for me, design outfits for me, beg me to update early, but more important than anything else, you guys have all become amazing friends and I could never do this without your help. **

**And even with all you guys with me, Stephenie Meyer still owns it all. **

**I am super excited about this one. I know some of you have been waiting for what happens. Enjoy!  
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_I have always been a little shy  
I've always been the quiet  
Type till now  
And I never let my feelings show  
I never let anybody know  
Just how much I was so  
Deep in love  
But now that you're in my arms_

_I'm gonna stand on a rooftop  
Climb up a mountaintop  
Baby, scream and shout  
I wanna sing it on the radio  
Show it on a video  
Baby, leave no doubt  
I want the whole world to know  
Just what I'm all about  
I love to love you out loud_

_**Love You Out Loud, by Rascal Flatts**_

_**July 5, 2010**_

**~*BPOV*~**

Rolling over, I quickly realized that I was not alone in my bed when I felt the weight of Edward's arm draped around me. Glancing out my bedroom window, I could tell it was still early by the hint of blue that was just beginning to take over the morning sky.

Edward stirred briefly, reminding me again that he was here with me in my bed. I shuddered slightly, remembering the dream that had brought him to me in the middle of the night. It was the worst one I'd had so far. And even with my degree in psychology giving me the knowledge that the dreams I'd been suffering from were a completely normal occurrence after what had happened, it didn't lessen their impact. In fact it was making me want to visit the prison so I could see with my own eyes that James Reynolds was still locked safely behinds its walls.

Going to the prison was something I'd been contemplating before the incident at the house but for different reasons. I wanted to confront Reynolds and ask him just what it was he hoped to gain by taunting me. I also wondered if I called him out on it, if it might be enough to make him stop. Other than wanting to scare me and throw me off balance mentally I had no clue what could be motivating him. Even now knowing that I bared a likeness to some of his victims, he was locked away with no hope of ever being released. So what did he hope to achieve? At this point he was the only one who could answer that and I didn't know if I'd be able to convince Emmett to let me make the visit. However, first thing tomorrow morning when I got to the office I was going to try.

My mind began to wander to the day that lay ahead of me. I found myself in the position that Edward was just in. I was going to meet his parents today, although he had obviously been through this before and I hadn't. I couldn't help but wonder what his parents thought of him disrupting his entire life to protect me. Did they think it was noble of him, brave? Did they think he was just doing his job or did they know about our involvement? I couldn't help giggling a little at that thought. It had been one of the same questions he'd had before we went to Forks. And in reality, knowing that his sister was aware of our relationship, I found it hard to believe that his parents didn't.

"Mmmm, why are you awake?" Edward rasped, while burying his face in the crook of my neck. "Did you have another bad dream?"

"No, you must have scared all the bad dreams away. I slept just fine once you were here," I admitted to him because it was the truth. It was the best I had slept in a long time.

"Is that so?"

"Yep. I guess you're like my personal dream catcher or something," I teased.

"Well I'll happily perform that duty anytime," he said placing a kiss just behind my ear.

I stretched before rolling over to face him. "I'm gonna hold you to that, ya know," I whispered as I scooted as close to him as I could get.

"I have no doubt you will, Sweetness. In fact, I'm looking forward it," he said softly as his arms tightened around me, holding me. "You sure you're ok?"

"Yeah I was just thinking," I answered after placing a kiss on the side of his neck.

"Penny for your thoughts," he offered.

"Just a little nervous about meeting your parents," I murmured against his neck.

"Don't be," he said.

"How can you be so sure they won't think I am messing up your life? Look at all you've had to give up because of me. I've just recently realized how much being here with me all the time has disrupted your normal life."

"Bella, first of all, it doesn't matter to me what they think. Or maybe I should say it's not going to change anything. Not how I feel or the fact I want to be here. What you are failing to see is that I haven't _had_ to give up anything. I _chose_ to do it and I have no regrets about it at all whatsoever. No one forced me to take on the task of keeping you safe. I volunteered. And given the choice again, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"Are you sure? Isn't there anything you miss doing?" I asked.

"Nothing important."

"What does that mean, Edward? Nothing important?"

"There are a few small things but like I said, nothing important. At least not more important to me than keeping you safe."

"Like what? Tell me what they are."

"Well, I used to go for a run in Denny Park every morning, which really is not a big deal. I've managed to get a few runs in here and there. And the other thing I miss I was actually going to talk to you about," he told me.

"Oh. What's that?" I asked curiously.

"As much as I am enjoying being here with you, I miss my place a bit. So I was going to ask you if you'd consider spending a few days there with me. Maybe next weekend? I understand why you wanted the comfort of your own home, but I'd like to get some more clothes and check on it, make sure everything is ok there. I know you must be tired of sitting home all the time. So I thought a change of scenery might do us both some good."

"That actually sounds really nice," I said through a huge yawn that came out of nowhere.

"If you're sure then we'll talk more about it later. Right now I think you need to go back to sleep for a little while."

I nodded and replied, "Mm hmm," and closed my eyes, breathing in his scent and allowing it to lull me back to sleep.

Going back to sleep had been both good and bad. Bad because, unfortunately once we had fallen back to sleep we slept longer than we should have. Good because we both needed it and I was becoming very addicted to being held in Edward's arms. Especially while all snuggled up in bed with next to nothing on.

But we were now running behind schedule to get to his parents' house and the rushing around to get ready did nothing to calm my nerves. And what scared me more than being nervous over meeting them was knowing if they were at all fake or untruthful with me I would know it. At least I hoped I would. Since meeting Edward, I no longer just assumed that I would be able to read everyone I came across.

It was supposed to get warmer than normal today so I decided on a white strapless sun dress. The dress was one of my favorites even though I had only worn it once before. At the top it had thin elastic gathers that helped hold it up. There was a ruffle around the top band that appeared to be brought together by a brown shoestring type tie. From top to bottom the dress had alternating layers of lace insets and solid panels of white cotton. It was frilly and feminine and made me feel pretty. I topped the dress off with a warm brown colored crocheted shrug that matched the shoestring tie on the front of the dress.

After buckling my sandals and applying some light makeup, I went back and forth over how to wear my hair. Edward liked it down, but I knew if it got as warm as was predicted I'd end up hot while outside. Compromising, I let the back fall down my back in its loose natural waves and pulled the front and sides back with a clip, knowing I could put it all up later if need be.

I grabbed my bag to gather my swimsuit and other items I would need for the day. In my nervousness I was dropping stuff left and right. First my brush, then the bottle of sunscreen; I finally had to stop and take a few deep calming breaths to pull myself together. It wasn't bad enough I had nearly chewed a couple my fingers nails down to nothing, no, now I had the dropsies too. Finally having everything, I made my way downstairs where Edward was waiting. It may have been nerve wracking for him to meet my parents, but at least he had been through this kind of thing before.

As I rounded the corner to enter the living room, Edward let out a long low whistle when he saw me. Walking over to me, he took my hand and raising it over my head, spun me like a ballerina, and then pulled me into his embrace.

"Mmm, Sweetness," he purred next to my ear. "You are going to have my family so dazzled by your beauty; they won't know what hit them."

I snorted and said, "I think you are exaggerating just a bit."

"Nope, I don't think so," he said backing up enough to place a quick kiss on the tip of my nose.

"You wanna add your swim trunks to my bag?" I asked.

"Don't need them."

"Um…excuse me?"

Edward chuckled while saying, "I keep an extra pair over there. So I don't need them."

"Oh," I uttered, feeling my face warm from the embarrassment of what I had been thinking. I turned away from him and fumbled through my bag to try and hide the fact I was blushing.

"Sweetness, why are you blushing?"

"Huh? What?" I feigned ignorance trying to avoid his question.

"Bella? Did you think I was going to swim without them?

"Umm, I think I'll plead the fifth on that one." I smiled and grabbed my bag and headed for the door.

He had a playfully devious look on his face, and I was sure he was about to press me further to fess up to what I had been imagining, but after glancing at his watch, he muttered, "Shit, we need to go or we'll never make it on time."

About ten minutes into our ride to his parent's house, Edward brought my hand that he was holding up to his lips and kissed it.

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing the serious look on his face. It wasn't like he was upset, but one of contemplation, maybe reluctance.

"Well there is something that is a bit of a sore subject with my parents so I tend to avoid talking about it. In fact I am never the first one to bring it up," he stated, nervously while glancing at me quickly and then focusing on the road again.

"Ok, what is it?" I asked hesitantly worried that maybe it had something to do with him protecting me. It seemed to be the only thing that would make sense. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that it must have to do with me. And that only added fuel to the nervousness I was already feeling.

"My time in the Army."

I was stunned and baffled over why this would be a sore subject for his parents. I had seen his entire military file and it was exemplary. He haadn't come home with any physical or mental scars like so many do. Completely at a loss to understand, I asked, "Why is it an issue?"

He let out a long whoosh of air. Releasing my hand, he ran it through his hair, tugging on the ends of it as he began to speak. "As you know my father is a doctor," he started and I nodded to indicate I remembered that fact. "From the time I was little I'd been informed and reminded constantly that I was expected to follow in his footsteps and go to med school."

"But you didn't want to, right?"

"For a time I did. Over the years as I was growing up, I idolized my father and wanted to be just like him," he told me.

"What happened to change your mind?"

"It wasn't something that happened over night. Over time as my father's career grew and I saw the long hours he was gone from home, I began to doubt if becoming a doctor was what I wanted. If I tried to discuss any other career option with them, it was brushed aside and they refused to listen to what I had to say. So of course being a stubborn teenager, I rebelled. I began telling myself that I wouldn't do it simply because it was what they wanted, what they expected of me."

"I'm guessing that didn't go over too well."

"No. Now don't get me wrong. I have great parents. But when it came to this one issue, they refused to listen to anything other than what they wanted. It was their way or no way."

"So that's why you didn't go? Just to rebel against your parents?"

"Not entirely. Part of it was the time away from home. There were times when I could clearly see how hard it was on my mother having to basically raise Alice and me on her own. I was far away from thinking about marriage and kids, but I knew when I did eventually get to that place in my life, I didn't want that hardship, that burden on my wife. And I'm sure my mother would tell you that it was no burden on her, but I saw how hard it was for her," he explained.

"Well I can understand that. Besides, it was your future to live, not theirs. And it still bothers them now?" It seemed like a long time to hold that over his head, especially now that he was a successful business owner.

"It's a touchy subject for them. If I hadn't been one hundred percent sure about not wanting to become a doctor, when my grandmother passed away my junior year in high school, I was after that. Her doctors fought with everything they had to save her from the cancer that was causing her to waste away and she died anyway. I knew then I would never be able to handle that. I even talked with my dad about it and he simply said it was all part of being a doctor and that you had to take the good with the bad and realize that you wouldn't be able to save everyone. But it was something I didn't want to have to accept. So when it came time to apply to colleges, I did it to placate them, knowing the whole time I was not going to go. I didn't know what I was going to do yet, but I was certain it would not be med school. At the end of my senior year, the recruiters for all the different branches came to the school to give us their spiels about joining and I talked to an Army recruiter. Because my parents had made it clear that if I didn't go to med school, I was on my own, the enlistment bonus plan, which provided money for school, appealed to me. I figured maybe after a few years I'd know what I wanted to do."

"And your parents thought that by threatening to not pay for your schooling, you'd give in to their demands, right?"

"Yes. At first I thought I'd use the inheritance my grandparents had left me. But they made sure I couldn't do that either. That only served to make the Army all that much more appealing to me. So three weeks before I graduated high school, I enlisted. They were furious. They had thought that being as wealthy as they were that they could buy me out of any commitment I had made to a school or so on. But they knew immediately that there was nothing they could do to get me out of the contract I had signed to join the Army. I was a legal adult of eighteen when I did, which made it all legit. "

"Why did you not make a career of the Army? I know I shouldn't have, but I have seen your file. You were one of the best they had in your field at the time. You were in the top of your class rankings in everything."

"Shortly before my time was up, I knew that I had joined for all the wrong reasons. Yes I was successful in what I did, ranked amongst the best as you have seen. But my heart wasn't in it. I have seen horrible things in places all over the world, Bella. And have made it through some harrowing missions by the seat of my pants. When I made a crucial mistake which nearly cost me and the men of my unit their lives on our last mission, I knew I was done."

"That must have been very difficult for you," I said softly as I reached over and held his hand in my left one and rubbed it with the right.

"Yes it was. Over the time I was in the Army, my parents came to accept what I had done even if they didn't like it. When I was discharged, I came home and enrolled in college with the money I had earned from the Army. The summer between my first two years I went to work for the former owner of the company I now own. As luck would have it, around the same time I graduated with a degree in business administration the owner was looking to retire. Jasper had been home for a couple of years by then on a medical discharge. He'd been injured and had to have his knee replaced; that made him medically exempt according to the Army's standards and Jasper didn't want a desk job with them. He had a degree in business finance and accounting so we became partners and bought old Mr. Johnson out."

"Do they still resent you for not going to med school?"

"Resent, no. But although we have made amends and they are proud of the life I have made for myself, I think they still wish I had gone to med school. We have no hard feelings between us anymore and when I graduated from college they gave me my inheritance from my grandparents so I could use it in buying my company. However it's still a less than desirable subject for them. So I just wanted to mention it to you so that you didn't bring it up in casual conversation and have to face the brunt of their sudden change in moods. And the only reason I thought it might come up is because I know that my and Jasper's military background played a part in Emmett hiring us to watch over you in Capri."

"So if they were to bring up how we met and so on, you were worried about it popping up?"

"Yes."

"No problem, I understand," I assured him with my words as well as a squeeze of his hand.

A few minutes later we were entering the town of Redmond. It was located east of downtown Seattle and was not only one of the more affluent Seattle suburbs, but also one of the more beautiful. Located between Washington's gorgeous Cascade mountain range and the sparkling waters of Puget Sound, and surrounded by towering evergreen forests, Redmond was known for its natural beauty.

We pulled into the driveway of a large brick home. The home was two and a half stories with black shutters on all the windows. Two tall evergreens stood on both sides of the front steps. Running along the front of the house across the expansive yard was a row of perfectly trimmed hedges outlined by blooming white flowers.

Edward drove up the driveway and around to the back of the house. After parking the car and turning it off, he got out and came around to open my door for me.

As if he knew I was in need of some reassurance, he gave me a hug and reiterated to me that everything would be fine and that his family would love me because he did.

Taking my hand, he led me across the brick patio to a pair of large French doors. He turned the knob and opened the door, allowing us to enter the kitchen. The room was filled with light from the large windows and French doors. The floors were a dark wood that contrasted with the bright white cabinets that lined the soft yellow walls. In the center there was a large island with a dark granite counter top. On top of the counter sat a huge vase full of white roses. I couldn't help smiling as I remembered the roses that Edward had given me.

No sooner than Edward had shut the door, his sister popped into the room like she had been waiting by the window, watching and ready to pounce the minute we arrived.

"I thought I heard your car pull come up the driveway," she chimed.

"Where's everyone at?" Edward asked as his sister came across the room and greeted him with a hug.

"In the living room. Come on, they're dying to meet Bella," Alice urged us. She was overflowing with excitement and happiness. It helped a little to know she was so happy for me to be here. It gave me hope that Edward was right and his parents would like me as well.

"You ready?" Edward asked as he started to nudge me towards what I assumed was the living room.

"A little late to back out now," I sighed.

"Relax, everything will be fine," he said with a wink.

The living room was huge, but still had a warm cozy feel to it. Like the kitchen it was filled with natural light. The walls were painted in a warm taupe color and the furniture was upholstered in a warm russet red, and accented with throw pillows of varying sizes and patterns containing a mixture of taupe, olive green and soft yellow. The furniture was anchored together by an area rug with large floral print in the same tones as the other accessories in the room. It was all situated around a large fireplace that was framed with the same brick from the exterior of the house and loaded with many family portraits sitting on its white painted mantel. I could make out some of a little boy and a young man and couldn't wait to take a closer peek at Edward when he was younger. The color of the hair on the boy and young man in the pictures made it obvious that they were of him.

Upon hearing us enter the room, Edward's parents along with Jasper stood to greet us. Edward held my hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as he led me over to his parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is Bella Swan. Bella, this is my mother Esme and my father Carlisle, and you've already met my sister Alice and her fiancé Jasper," Edward said, motioning towards each member of his family as he introduced them to me.

I held my hand out to shake his mother's, but just as my mom had done to Edward, she pulled me into a warm embrace. As she stepped back she smiled brightly and said, "Alice has told us so much about you, dear. It's wonderful to _finally_ get to meet you." She had looked over at Edward with a slightly annoyed expression on her face as she placed emphasis on the word "finally". However I could sense that while she might be a bit miffed with him for not bringing me to meet them sooner, she was not truly upset with her son. In fact she had a wave of prideful happiness emanating from her.

"Yes, I agree with my wife," Edward's father said as he shook my hand.

Esme Cullen was a stunning woman, petite like Alice, but with nearly the same unique color of hair as Edward. She had the same piercing green eyes as he did and a smile that could warm you on the coldest winter day. Carlisle Cullen however took me by surprise with his appearance. He was tall, which wasn't what surprised me, but the fact that he was blond with blue eyes did. The man was incredibly handsome and Edward had several of the same facial features as his father did. But while it was clear to see where Edward had gotten his hair color from, once seeing that his father had blond hair, I was stumped as to where Alice had gotten her nearly black hair color from.

I was relieved to feel that they were genuinely pleased to meet me. The six of us sat around the living room and got to know each other a bit. The conversation seemed to flow easily amongst us. Edward and I filled in the blanks between what they had heard from Alice about how we had met and we told them what we could about my situation. Fortunately his Army training never came up. They asked about my schooling, specifically where I had gone to college, about my parents, and if I had any siblings. Questions I assumed where the typical ones a parent asks when their son brings a woman home for them to meet for the first time. It made me wonder if my father had asked Edward similar questions.

The only time things got a little tense was when they had asked about my work with the FBI. I could feel the muscles in Edward's leg that was next to mine go rigid when the subject was brought up. I was sure he was worried about it leading up to him working for Emmett, along with the question of why Emmett thought Edward would be capable of doing the job, which of course was his military background. However, once again, disaster was averted and the conversation never did go in that direction. When Edward had realized it, he was able to relax again. His parents readily accepted the brief description I gave them about what it was I did and never had any feelings of resentment towards me, thinking that their son might get hurt because of me. It was a great relief to me and I was internally doing a little happy dance.

It wasn't long before Esme was declaring it was time to get started on dinner. Alice and I both offered to help her but she insisted that Carlisle would take care of grilling the steaks and she would be fine handling the rest. She then told the four of us to go outside and enjoy the patio or the pool, that it was far too gorgeous of a day to be hanging around inside.

"Bella, you can change upstairs in Edward's old room if you like. He and Jasper usually change in the pool house outside where their trunks are," Alice said.

"Um, sure that would be great," I told her.

Edward gave me a quick peck on my lips and said he'd see me out by the pool. I nodded and then followed Alice. She showed me into the room and pointed to the door to the private bathroom located in the room in case I needed it for any reason. I sat down on the foot of the bed and placed my bag next to me. Looking around the room, I took in the wall of book shelves that was littered with things he had left when he moved out. Baseball trophies, books, pictures, along with an old glove with a baseball sitting inside it. Some of the shelves were full and others were empty, I surmised from him picking and choosing what he took with him when he left.

It dawned on me as I took my swim suit and flip flops out of my bag that this was only the second time in my life I had ever been in a man's bedroom, Garret's dorm room being the first. The memories surrounding what had happened between Garrett and I weren't painful any more, but they still played tricks on my sense of trust when it came to men. I knew that very soon I was going to have to tell Edward what had happened so that I could let him in completely with nothing left between us. I hoped that by doing so, Edward would understand even further why I had been so hurt by him not being completely honest with me. I knew he wasn't Garrett and the situations were extremely different, and I also knew now more than ever that Edward would never hurt me the way that Garrett had. So I promised myself that I wouldn't wait much longer to tell him.

Not wanting to dwell on my past any longer, I quickly stripped and put my suit on. I had chosen the same top I had worn when I washed my car a few weeks ago, but went with boy-short bottoms since we were at his parent's house. I tied the sarong I had brought with me around my waist and had just put everything except my shoes and dress into my bag when I heard a knock on the door.

"Hey, Bella, it's Alice. Are you ready to head down to the pool?" she called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, just a sec," I called back to her as I slipped my feet into my flip flops and made my way to the door.

Opening the door, I saw Alice standing there with a wide smile on her face. "Let's go," she chirped happily and pulled my arm, nearly dragging me behind her. For someone so small she sure wasn't lacking in the strength department.

The rest of the afternoon sped by. The four of us had a blast in the pool and just hanging out together. My first impressions of Alice being an annoying little pest were quickly fading away. The more we chatted and got to know each other, the more I saw the potential to have a real friendship with her. She was very sweet and clearly loved her big brother immensely. The way the two of them joked and carried on around each other showed just how close the bond between them was. It made it very easy to see why Edward had no issues with walking down the aisle with his ex-girlfriend to make his sister's wedding day everything she wanted it to be. For the first time since I had met Edward, I was really seeing what a gem he was and how very lucky I was to have him in my life.

After Alice and I had changed back into our clothes for dinner, we found the guys helping Esme carrying the food and dishes out on to the patio for dinner. We helped them get the rest and then the six of us gathered around the outdoor dining set to enjoy our meal. Most of the dinner conversations surrounded Alice and Jasper's upcoming nuptials and the few last minute things Esme and Alice had to do. I nearly choked on my wine when Esme made the comment that she had taken the liberty of switching the room accommodations for Edward since I was now going to be with him. She had bumped him from a single room to a suite for the two of us to share. It wasn't that I had a problem sharing a room with him; after all I had asked him to stay in my bed with me last night. And I had loved waking up with him next to me this morning. It was more the way she treated it with such a casual flair. My father would have been beside himself if I had even hinted to sharing a room with Edward while we were in Forks over the weekend.

Dinner had been amazing. I had eaten way more than I should have, but it was so good I could hardly help myself. And the chocolate cake Esme had made for dessert was mouth watering, each bite melting in your mouth.

Alice, Edward, Jasper and I cleaned up afterwards and soon after that Edward and I left. Esme had given me another warm hug as we left and she told me that she had been thrilled to meet me and hoped she'd be seeing a lot of me in the future.

Once we arrived back at my house, I told Edward I was tired and was going to turn in for the night. I was tired, but I also really needed some time to myself to sort through how well the day had gone and my thoughts on telling Edward about Garrett.

Grasping my hand and stopping me just before I reached the stairs, Edward asked, "Bella, what's wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing."

Letting out a long sigh, I turned to face him while standing on the bottom step. With the step increasing my height, I was at his eye level. It was actually a good thing. I wanted him to see that I was being completely honest with him.

"I wasn't going to tell you that," I said while reaching up to smooth back the lock of hair that had fallen on to his forehead. His hair was messier than usual from our time outside and in the pool. "I am truly tired, but I also need a little time to myself to work through some things on my own."

"Are you sure that's all? I mean, surely you could see how much my parents adore you. I hope you are not still worrying over that," he said pulling me to him so that I was leaning against him.

"They are part of what's on my mind. But not in the way you think. It was just a little overwhelming. Your parents are wonderful. I couldn't be happier about how today went. But I need to wrap my head around it. It was so different than what I was expecting, so I'm a bit overwhelmed by it all."

"Is that the only thing bothering you?" he asked while peppering kisses along my bare shoulder. I hadn't put my shrug back on after our swim and I had caught him several times over the course of the evening staring at me and running his hands along my bare shoulders every chance he got. I knew if I didn't get away from him soon, I'd end up in a heated make out session with him and not allowing myself the time I needed to work through my thoughts.

"No. And I am going to ask you not to press me on the other subject right now. I'm not trying to hide or keep anything from you. I promise that very soon I will tell you about it. I just need a little more time."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

"Promise if you get upset and you need me, you will come get me?"

"I promise," I said, and then placed a soft his on his warm lips. I loved this man so much and I wanted to be able to get this last thing remaining between us out of the way so that I could say it to him without any reservations or lingering ghosts from my past.

However he didn't let me pull away. He kissed me with so much love and adoration; I swear I could feel my heart swelling with the love he was pouring into me through his kiss.

Edward reluctantly let me go and I made my way up to my room. After a long hot shower, I curled up on my bed with a book. Being unable to concentrate on the book, I gave up and gave into the thoughts that were nagging me.

Today had been truly amazing and beyond anything I could have hoped for. Edward's parents never once gave any indication of anything other than joy and happiness. It was apparent they loved their son tremendously despite any past misgivings they may have had between them. I could see that they were proud of the man he was today even if he had not gone down the path they would have chosen for him.

It was overwhelming how quickly I felt comfortable around Carlisle and Esme. Once they had gotten past all the questions they had, they treated me as if they had known me forever and like I was a member of the family. And I felt perfectly at home with them. I laughed to myself at how wrong I had been about Alice. I had pegged her as an annoying, nosy, busy body. Yes she was very exuberant, probably a little over the top sometimes, but I could now see that she got involved on the level she did because she cared so much.

I looked at the clock and saw that it was past ten. I must have spent over an hour zoning out while trying to read my book and doing nothing more than staring at the pages.

My thoughts drifted to Garrett. When was the right time to tell Edward? Was there a right time or was I just procrastinating and putting off what I knew was inevitable? I was procrastinating. But all of a sudden I wondered why. I hadn't done anything wrong. I was the one who had been done wrong. So why was I so worried about what he would think of me? I had been naive and perhaps gullible, and the only thing I had been wrong about was Garrett's feelings for me. But I myself had done nothing wrong.

I resigned myself to telling him tomorrow. After going to the bathroom and getting a drink of water, I crawled back in bed and closed my eyes, hoping sleep would come easy now that I had made up my mind.

I was just about to doze off when I thought I had heard my bedroom door creak. It hadn't been shut all the way, but when I looked at it no one was there. I told myself that it was probably Edward checking on me and rolled back over.

Unfortunately the issue with the door had me alert again, and my brain thinking about everything once more. _Maybe Edward was still awake_, I thought to myself. I slipped on a pair of shorts under the oversized t-shirt I was sleeping in and crept quietly over to his door to see if I could hear anything. There was nothing to indicate he was still awake, but I couldn't fight the urge to open the door and sneak a peek at him.

I could just make out his silhouette in the moonlight that was streaming in through the window. I walked over and kneeled next to the side of the bed. He was so beautiful. His facial features so serene and relaxed in his sleep. Telling myself that I shouldn't, I gently slipped my fingers through his tousled hair. After a few minutes, I decided I should go back to bed; I didn't want to wake him so I would just wait until tomorrow to talk to him like I originally planned. But as I stood and moved to walk away, I felt his hand catch mine, much like it had on the stairs earlier.

"Looking for your dream catcher, Sweetness?" he whispered.

"Not this time. I haven't been to sleep yet. There's…um…something I wanted to talk to you about, but if you're sleeping it can wait until tomorrow."

"No, I wasn't asleep," he confessed and then patted the spot next to him while scooting into a sitting position.

"You weren't?"

"No, I was going to say something, but when you started playing with my hair, I didn't want you to stop so I kept quiet."

I nodded and smiled, knowing I probably would have done the same thing. It was funny the fascination we both seemed to have with each other's hair.

"So it must be pretty important for you to be lurking in my room when you think I am asleep."

"Ugh, sorta."

"Just remember you can tell me anything, Sweetness," he said while taking my hand he was holding and kissing the back of it.

Looking down at our joined hands I whispered, "Edward, I think it's time I told you about Garrett."

"You only have to tell me if you are certain you are ready."

"I know, and I am," I assured him.

I turned and crisscrossed my legs in front of me. Looking up at him, I blew out a long breath and began, "So, you know I've told you that I've only ever been with one other person besides you."

"Yes. It was that Garrett guy?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Ok. Go on," he encouraged me.

"I had known him—well known who he was for a few years. He was the ever so popular jock of Forks high school and all the girls drooled over him at some time or another. I was no different. He was tall, sandy blond hair, nice build, and pretty blue eyes. You know, that all American boy type. At the time I thought he was the hottest guy I had ever seen. However I never had any contact with him while in high school, I simply knew who he was due to his popularity. He was a year ahead of me so once he graduated high school I figured I'd never see him again. I still had a year of high school left and it wouldn't have mattered anyway because he'd had the same girlfriend since tenth grade and no other girl stood a chance as long as Kate was in the picture."

"So what happened between the two of you didn't happen in high school?"

"No, I just wanted you to understand that I had known who he was for a while, he wasn't just some random guy I'd met."

"And by you saying that as long as his girlfriend was in the picture no one else mattered, then I'm guessing that at some point Kate was no longer around?"

I nodded and then said, "Well, that's what I was led to believe."

"What do you mean?"

"I was a couple of months into my freshman year at The University of Washington. Me and a few of my friends were attending the football game. I hadn't really wanted to go, but they eventually talked me into it saying, I needed to show my school spirit and all. I was surprised to find out that our star quarterback was none other than Garrett. I'd had him pegged for going away as far as he could to some big Ivy League school."

"But he was there at UDUB with you?" Edward confirmed.

"Yeah. So anyways, math had always been one of my stronger subjects and near the end of that semester I got asked to tutor a fellow student who was struggling in calculus. Imagine my surprise when I became aware it was Garrett. He was failing and of course if he didn't pass he would be kicked off the football team and lose his scholarship. So while tutoring him, I thought I had gotten to know him pretty well. Yes I was aware of my gift, but I actually tried not to use it at that point in my life. It felt wrong, almost like an invasion of privacy to me. Sure I had used it to mess with kids when I was younger, hence the witch story I told you about, but as I got older it was often a hindrance and not helpful. So I tried to push it aside and ignore it."

"That must have been hard for you to do," Edward murmured while rubbing his thumb in a soothing manner back and forth over my hand.

"Yes it was, but I wanted to be normal, to fit in and have friends. So, over the course of tutoring him, Garrett began acting as though he was truly interested in who I was and even began flirting with me. I was extremely flattered, especially since guys never really seemed interested in me. Rumors started circulating around campus that he and Kate had split up and he seemed genuinely upset about it."

"But ho—" Edward started, but I held my hand to his mouth to silence him so I could finish.

"I know you are probably thinking that with my gift I should have been able to tell, but given the fact that I was trying not to use it, I convinced myself that what I saw was real, ignoring the bad vibe my gift was giving me about him."

I paused to get some control over the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm me. My hands had begun to shake and I felt like I was on the verge of a panic attack, dredging up all the memories of what Garrett had done to me. Thinking about telling Edward of my experience was so much easier than actually speaking the words.

"You ok?" Edward asked, leaning forward and softly stroking my hair.

"Yeah, it's just harder to talk about than I thought it would be," I replied a bit shakily. "Garrett turned up the heat on his flirtatious behavior and one afternoon when the tutoring session was over, he asked me out. I was stunned and flattered to say the least. Here I was a nobody being asked out by the star jock. Know what I mean?"

"No, I don't because he should have been the one who was flattered to have been taking you out," Edward stated, his voice taking on a bit of a gruff tone, probably due to him realizing I was close to getting to the hard part of the story.

"After that day we began dating. For the next couple of weeks, he charmed me and lavished me with attention. At least that is when I got to see him. He said he was practicing most of the time for football, and with him being the starting quarterback, I never questioned him. I was grateful to have the little bit of time we had together. After about four weeks of dating him, he told me he loved me. And he also said that he wanted to show me, he wanted to take our relationship to the next level and he wanted to make love to me. We had had some heated make out sessions, explored touching a little, but that was as far as it had gone. I was eighteen, naïve, basically star struck in a sense about this guy and head over heels for him. He was someone that even in my wildest dreams I never thought would be interested in me, someone unattainable. Plus, I was still a virgin. I wasn't necessarily saving myself for marriage, but for someone I thought was special, worthy. Someone who loved me like I loved them and Garrett had me convinced he was that guy."

"Oh, God, Bella, did he lie to you and use you to get what he wanted?" Edward growled.

"Yes," I answered hardly able to get the word out as I chocked back a sob.

His anger getting the better of him briefly Edward screamed, "Fuck," and slammed his fist into the bed next to him.

I gasped; I knew this was going to be hard for him, but I didn't know he'd react so strongly.

Hearing my reaction to his outburst, Edward took a few calming breaths and then said, "You don't have to tell me anymore if you don't want to Bella. I think I already have a pretty clear idea of what went down."

"Yes, I do. I need to get it all out. I need for you to know everything. It wasn't just him," I cried.

Shutting his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose, he whispered, "Ok."

"The night it happened, I was again ignoring my feelings. My instincts were screaming at me, but I decided that he cared for me, I cared for him and even if the relationship didn't last, I wanted to give all I could for as long as I could. I guess stupidly part of me was also gloating a bit inside over the fact of who he was with his popularity status and all."

"Jesus, Bella, I am almost afraid to know what happened. I have a feeling I am going to want to kill this fucker," Edward said through gritted teeth.

"You'd have to get in line behind my brother, Jane, and my friend in New York, the one who sends the coffee. They are the only three who know what happened. Unfortunately, whether lied to or not, it was still consensual sex and I was well beyond the age of consent. "

"If I'd been your brother I'd have beaten the fucker to a pulp anyways," Edward sneered.

"Oh trust me, he wanted to. I was ready to leave school and go to the community college in Port Angeles where I could live at home. I had to agree to stay in school in order to keep Alec from going after Garrett. Alec convinced me that if I quit then Garrett won, he would be taking everything away from me, and I couldn't let him do that. Alec said he had already taken enough from me, not to give him anything else."

"He was right you know," Edward said, sitting up and hugging me.

"I do now, but it was really hard back then. Dealing with the fall out of what had happened, but I'll get to that in a minute. Just let me finish this."

Edward nodded and sat back while I continued with my story.

"I had sex with him. Gave him my virginity. The one thing I had that I could never get back. For about a week I was in bliss. He was suddenly very attentive and with me more than ever before and of course couldn't keep his hands off of me."

"So what happened? How did he hurt you Bella? What did he do to make you so reserved with men and relationshipos? It had to be so much more than breaking things off with you afterwards."

"Somehow, I still don't know how to this day, Garrett and his entourage of friends, including Kate, had become aware of the fact that I was still a virgin."

I could feel Edward's grip tighten on my hand and I was pretty sure I could hear his teeth grinding together in anger. I hated to see how upset hearing this made him. The pain and anger it was causing him.

"Go on," he muttered.

I laughed sarcastically, feeling anger well up in me as I explained, "They decided to play a game with my life. They had all placed bets on how long it would take Garrett to steal my 'V' card. Kate, his girlfriend, won the bet. I found out when one of the girls in their group, Victoria, felt guilty about what they had done and spilled it all to me. She didn't have any idea either how they knew I was still a virgin, but in the grand scheme of things that really doesn't matter. But he still took it with no regard as to how it would affect me later."

Edward was furious. His breathing had increased and I could feel the muscles in his arm twitching as it rested on my leg. Not to mention the way he was gripping my hand. He didn't say anything so I just continued on with the rest of my story so we could move on and forget it.

"I called him out on it; he laughed in my face, telling me that I should have been honored to lose my virginity to him. What was even worse than that was when he told me I wasn't even that good in bed, that I bored him. And that was the first time I had ever hated anyone in my life. It was also the last time I ever ignored what my instincts were telling me. It was then that I started obsessing over relying on my gift to read everyone I knew, other than my family and the couple of close friends I knew without a doubt I could trust. I swore I'd never let a man, or anyone for that matter, ever hurt me like that again. Not if I could use my ability to avoid it. And that's when my social life came to be what it was before I met you. Either me kicking the guy to the curb the first time he lied to me, or them running off at the speed of light when I'd confess what I could do. And there was never anyone I ever got close enough to, to consider having sex with until you," I told him, the last few words coming out as nothing more than a whisper.

Edward pulled me up and into his arms. He held me close and kissed the top of my head. "My God, Bella. He took so much more from you that day." I nodded knowing he was right. "I understand so much better now. I knew you had been hurt and lied to, so that made sense why being honest was so important to you. But, Jesus, I never imagined someone had been so incredibly cruel to you. And it was cruel. Cruel and vicious and if I knew where the bastard was, I'd go tear him limb for limb right now. I don't know how your brother stopped himself from doing it."

"It wasn't easy for him because you are right he did take so much more than my innocence from me. He took away my ability to trust not only others, but my own feelings too. I felt so violated, humiliated and angry afterwards. _Used_. For a long time after it happened, I had to endure the sneers and snickers from those who found out. But my brother's words about not letting Garrett win stuck with me and I refused to let anyone see how it was killing me inside. On the exterior I pretended to ignore it all and act as if it was nothing, while on the inside I was falling apart. The only good that came of it was my career. At that time I was studying to be an English major. After having to get some counseling for me to be able to deal with what happened, was when I changed my major to psychology. And now…well, I also have to think that it led me to you. My lack of trust in men caused me to either shut them out or scare them away and if that hadn't been the case who knows if I might have already been married or with someone."

Edward continued to hold me, caressing my back while saying to me, "Sweetness, I wish that I could promise you that our relationship will always be perfect and that we'll never get mad or upset with each other ever again. But I can't. However I can promise you that you will never have to go through anything like what that prick put you through as long as you are with me. I can promise that I will never, _ever _keep anything from you again and that I will, always, _always_ be honest with you." His voice was so warm and caring, so full of love. I didn't know what I had done to deserve this man, but I damn sure wasn't going to let him go.

"Thank you. You can't possibly know how much that means to me, Edward," I whispered.

"I think I do. And I also would like to think that you wouldn't have ended up with someone else. I believe that somehow our paths would have crossed and we'd have found each other somehow. I mean we do live in the same city after all."

"You really believe that we were meant to be together?" I asked.

"Yes I do. Do you?"

"I'm beginning to. You make it hard not to. It's seems so easy for you to believe."

"It is easy because I love you, Bella. And I trust in that love and I also believe that you love me too, even if you aren't ready to say it yet."

I didn't know how he had come to be able to decipher my emotions so well, but he was right and it was time to tell him. He had been so patient with me, so caring and so loving all this time. Edward was giving me all he had and it was time I did the same. It was time I was all in, just like he was.

No longer afraid to tell him how I really felt, I raised myself up on one elbow so that I could see his face in the moonlight as I spoke the words he had been longing to hear.

"Edward, there's just one more thing I need to tell you," I told him and could make out him scrunching his eyebrows together slightly as he thought about what I was going to say.

"OK," he said, dragging the word out a bit.

I couldn't fight the smile that spread across my face as I looked into his eyes and said, "Edward, I love you too."

He didn't say anything right away and I wasn't sure how to take it. For a second I thought perhaps I'd waited too long, but that couldn't be true because he'd just told me he loved me. Just as I was about to ask him if he'd heard what I said he started to talk.

"God, Bella, do you know how long I've wanted to hear those words from you?" His voice was so full of emotion it was hard for him to speak. The words came out in a hoarse whisper instead of the smooth velvety tone he normally had.

"I do and I'm so sorry I kept you waiting so long."

Before I could say anything else, Edward was hovering over me and his lips were engulfing mine. He kissed me with so much passion and love I swore I could feel my toes tingling.

"Again," he demanded as his lips released mine.

I cupped the side of his face as I repeated my declaration to him, punctuating each word as I did. "I. Love. You. Edward Cullen."

"You've made me the happiest man alive, Bella. You know you have to say it all the time now right? 'Cause I'm never going to get tired of hearing it."

Giggling and peppering his lips with kisses, I said, "Good 'cause I don't ever want to stop." It was an amazing feeling to not be holding back any longer. I was ready to shout it to the world.

We laid there in the dark; Edward apologized more than once for what I had been through and reiterated how it all made sense to him now why I had been so reluctant to trust him and to be with him, especially since I was unable to read him. I told him how I forgave him and how it was all behind us now, that I just wanted to move forward with him and be happy. I was ready to give our relationship my all. I had a flurry of emotions running through me. I was relieved that he understood me so much better now and that it was done. There were no more secrets between us. I felt silly for not telling him sooner. He was so amazingly supportive and understanding. I had no idea what had ever become of Garrett Anderson, but for his own safety I hoped he was far away from the city of Seattle. He would be lucky to live if Edward ever got a hold of him.

I made the same promises to Edward, along with telling him that I would always go to him if I ever had any doubts about anything. That I would never be afraid to question him on anything and that I promised to trust and believe in our feelings for each other, in _us._

Our whispered words of commitment turned to kisses and then we were content to hold each other while we fell asleep. That last thing I remembered was the both of us whispering words of love to one another before sleep claimed us.

**There ya go. Now you know why Bella was so guarded with her feelings and her heart. I hope it help makes her actions more understandable to those of you who have been screaming at her. And lets not forget she finally said those three magic words. Hope you liked it. Look for the teaser Monday on the blog. **

**EA~  
**


	16. Monsters

**Happy day after Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday yesterday. I think I am still stuffed from the amount of food I ate. I know this is a little late, but hey it's still Friday. I have the two best partners in crime anyone could ask for in My Bella and Hope4more and I am thankful to have them both. **

**Stephenie Meyer still owns it all. **

_Deep into the darkness where I hide  
The monsters are burried down deep inside  
You never know when they're satisfied  
Buried down deep where the sun don't shine  
The monsters are buried down deep inside but_

_**Monsters, by Hurricane Bells**_

The Stafford that Emmett and Bella refer to in this chapter is Stafford Creek Corrections Center, which is a maximum security prison located in Aberdeen, Washington, about two hours southwest of Seattle.

_**July 6, 2010**_

**~*BPOV*~**

"I don't know, Bella," Emmett said as he debated whether or not to agree to my visiting Reynolds. I had spent the whole morning in my office contemplating what I would say to him in order to have the best shot at him agreeing. I knew if I couldn't convince Emmett, there was no way of convincing Edward. So I worked on my boss and good friend first, knowing he was completely aware of the number of times I had already come face to face with the monster who was locked up just two hours south of here.

"Look, Emmett, I haven't come face to face with him since all of this bullshit with the apples and the notes began. I need to see that he is still in that prison with my own eyes. I know it's a bit ridiculous and the rational side of my brain knows he is. But there's the other side that was scared shitless by what took place in that house and the nightmares I've been having since then that needs to do this. I need it for my own sanity. Besides I want the opportunity to confront him about the apples and letters and see if I can catch him off guard. Get a read on him and see if I can make him slip up and give us some information."

"You've been having nightmares?" Emmett asked, surprised by my admission.

"Yes, which only increases my desire to make sure he is still in that prison. And I've had enough training and experience dealing with Reynolds that I know I can go in there and keep my cool around him. I want to make him see he is not getting to me even if he has to some degree."

"I hear what you're saying, Bella. I get it, I really do. But do you really think you might be able to get him to admit something?" Emmett asked quizzically.

"I got him to confess to the crimes he was being accused of didn't I?" I retorted.

"Yes you did. But this is personal, Bella. Can you really go in there and not let him rattle you?"

"Emmett, what he is doing to me is nothing compared to what he did to those other women. I had to sit there and listen to him tell me about what he did. So yeah, I think I can. I didn't let the gruesome vulgarity of what he'd done to them get to me when I'd convinced Reynolds that I understood him and empathized with him in order to get a confession. I won't let it bother me now either. If it will make you happy, you and Edward can both come with me. I know that either you or Seth would have to go anyways, so why not take Edward too? He won't like it anymore than you, so I figure he'll insist on going. Might as well just avert the argument and set it up that way," I said as I continued to argue my case with him.

"You should have been a fucking attorney, Swan," Emmett huffed.

"Oh, but then I wouldn't have the pleasure of working with you," I added sarcastically before painting a fake pout on my face that had Emmett rolling with laughter the second he saw it.

"Fine, I'll call down to Stafford and let them know we'll be there tomorrow. In the mean time, you get to call lover boy and make sure he is available to go then. If not I will see if Seth will go with us. But after the shit with the house, and knowing someone was able to get their hands on police issued knock out gas, I would prefer either he or I be here at all times."

"Did they ever get anything on that call? The anonymous tip that sent us on that wild goose chase?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you about that?"

"No. But then again I was a bit out of it the day after and then Edward and I were gone."

"It was traced to a pay phone. The one at Columbia and First," Emmett stated solemnly.

"Jesus, Emmett. That's only two fucking blocks away," I exclaimed.

"I know, but Forensics said it would be useless to try and pick up prints from a public payphone, it would take years to go through them all," Emmett sighed in disappointment. The stress of this was beginning to wear on us both.

"So just another dead end," I huffed in annoyance. Whoever was doing this was smart. They knew what the hell they were doing when it came to covering their tracks.

He nodded and I didn't know what else to say. It was becoming a bit frustrating. But I had a feeling that was what Reynolds and his sidekick wanted.

"Ok, well I am going to go call Edward. Wish me luck," I said as I opened the door to his office.

"Speaking of Edward, what was with that huge shit eating grin you had on your face when you got here this morning?" Emmett prodded, causing me to stop and spin back around to face him.

"Um, I guess I'm just happier than I've been in a long time."

Emmett snorted and shook his head at me before flashing me a smile so big a Cheshire cat would be envious. "It's more than that, Bella. I take it your weekend in Forks went well. Your dad didn't threaten to shoot Edward?"

Unable to avoid smiling myself at the mention of this past weekend I confirmed that meeting the parents had gone better than expected for both of us. Of course Emmett being the thorough investigator he was didn't let it go there. He had to fish for more information. "So have you admitted it to him yet?"

"Admitted what?" I asked even though I was pretty sure I knew what he was getting at.

"That you love him. You know what I'm talking about, Swan. Don't play coy with me," he said with a smirk.

"If you must know, yes I have. Just last night actually," I said, hanging my head to hide the smile that was about to split my face in two as I remembered how wonderful it had been to finally say those words out loud to Edward.

"Good. It's about time," he teased.

"Whatever, McCarty," I snapped playfully. "Now if you're done poking your nose into my personal life, I'm going to go call Edward and hope he doesn't have a flippin heart attack when I tell him what we're doing."

"Good luck. You're gonna need it," he called after me as I turned to walk out the door.

After making my way back to my office, I plopped down in my chair and sat their playing with my cell phone for a few minutes while dreading having to tell Edward of my plans. Unfortunately my time for procrastinating ran out when the phone chirped in my hand, and upon looking at the screen I saw it was Edward.

Pressing the button to answer the call, I raised the phone to my ear smiling yet again as I said, "Hi."

"Hi yourself, Sweetness. How's your day been so far?" he asked.

"Um, never a dull moment around here," I said, stalling just a little longer.

"I bet."

"You must have read my mind, I was just about to call you," I told him, not really wanting to tell him of my plans but knowing I needed to. We had promised not to keep anything from each other and I planned on keeping that promise.

"Hmm, let me guess, you couldn't resist the urge to say it again. Right?"

"Well actually as much as I love being able to say it to you as much as I want now, it wasn't the reason for my call. But since you called me first, was there something you needed? That is other than to hear me say it again?"

"Yeah there is but first, say it for me, Sweetness," he demanded. His voice was full of emotion as he did.

"You're going to have me say it so much, you're gonna get sick of hearing it," I teased, knowing that wasn't likely to ever happen. At least I hoped it didn't because I loved hearing him say it to me, especially now that I didn't feel guilty for not saying it back.

"That will never happen. You could repeat it endlessly and I'll never tire of hearing it," he said so happily that I could hear his smile through the phone.

"I love you."

"I love you too, Bella."

I was quiet, not wanting to ruin the moment by what I had to tell him. I knew he wouldn't like it, but I hoped that he would understand why I needed to do this and support me.

Edward broke the silence when he said, "Listen, the reason I'm calling is I'm going to be a little late coming to get you. Mike has the flu and we have a job that has to be finished today. Jasper is getting his final fitting for his tux, so I'm the only one left to help with it. Do you think Emmett will have a problem waiting with you?"

"No I don't think so. How late do you think you'll be?"

"Maybe a half hour, forty five minutes at the most."

"I'll check with him and get back to you if it's a problem."

"Will you let me know either way just to be sure one way or the other?"

"If you insist, Mr. Cullen," I said while rolling my eyes at him despite him not being able to see it.

"I do insist, Miss Swan. Now what was it you were going to call me about?"

I didn't respond immediately. Instead I sat there chewing on my lip, worried about what his reaction was going to be.

"Bella," he called dragging my name out as he did. "You fall asleep over there?" he teased.

"No. Um…there's no easy way to say this so I am just going to get straight to the point. Emmett and I are driving down to Stafford tomorrow. I have some questions for Reynolds and I thought you might be more comfortable with it if you were to go along with us."

"You're going to what?" he screeched into the phone. "Why, Bella? What could you possibly hope to accomplish by going to see that monster?"

"Some reassurance for one. I know this might sound a little silly, but I need to see that he is still there locked behind bars. In the dreams I've been having he is out and coming after me. I know it's crazy to even think he is anywhere other than sealed in that prison, but I need to see it with my own two eyes."

"And the other reason is?"

"I want to confront him. Call him out for harassing me and see if by standing up to him I can get him to give away some sort of clue. Maybe if he gets mad he will let something slip that he doesn't mean to. If he does then maybe we can put this mess behind us faster."

"No fucking way, Bella," Edward growled.

"Edward, you can't stop me. I knew you wouldn't like this idea, but I never expected you to tell me I couldn't. Emmett is my superior and he has agreed to it and already set it up. I don't have to have your permission to go."

"So you are going to do this regardless, whether I want you to or not?"

"I have to. I know you're afraid for me to be anywhere near him. I understand why, he's a monster. And believe me if I thought there was any other way I wouldn't do this. But it's not like it's the first time I have been to see him. In all of the other times he never once acted violent or even aggressive towards me. I know what I'm doing. This is what I was trained for and you and Emmett will be able to watch through the two way glass in the visitation cell."

"You'll been in the cell with him?" he asked sounding shocked.

"Yes. It's no different than any of the other times. Besides, I doubt he's stupid enough to attempt anything with two armed guards standing there ready to pounce on him if he did. It's part of my job, Edward. He's not the first murderer I've come into contact with and he won't be the last. Is this how you are going to react every time I have to profile someone?"

"No, Bella it's just…I—"

"I know. You want to protect me. And if you are there I will have you, Emmett, and all the security guards necessary to make sure I stay safe."

"I don't like it, Bella."

"I'm not asking you to like it. Hell I don't like it. But I feel it's necessary."

"You'd really do this without me?"

Edward was clearly frustrated and I understood why he was so against me going to visit Reynolds. I also hated upsetting him after the wonderful weekend we'd just shared. But I was set on doing this and already having Emmett's approval, there was no way I was backing down.

"Yes," I stated confidently. "I don't want to, but I promised you no more secrets."

"Fine," he conceded, but his unhappiness was clear by the sharp tone in his voice. That being the case, I was surprised when he then said, "I have something to ask of you as well."

"Oh really? What's that?" I asked with a sigh. I had a feeling I might not like whatever it was he was trying to use as a compromise.

"I just got off the phone with my sister, and I have already cleared this with her. As you know I'm Jasper's best man, and that will require me to perform certain duties. I can't perform those duties and be with you the entire time."

"Well, yeah that makes sense, so what are you suggesting? Are you saying you don't want me to go now? Because if you are I com—"

"Sweetness, let me finish ok? I'm not suggesting that at all. I want you there with me. However, you still need to be watched. As unlikely as it might seem that anything would occur while we are in Vancouver for the wedding, it was also unlikely that you would have been found in Italy but you were, so I don't want to take any chances. Obviously Jasper and I will be engaged in wedding activities so the only other solution I could come up with was to ask my sister to extend an invitation to Emmett and his wife."

"Edward, I don't want Alice to have to invite complete strangers to her wedding just because of me."

"She's not."

"No?" I asked confused.

"No. If you think about it for a minute you will remember that Emmett and I went to school together and we were friends. My sister knows him and they even chatted briefly when you were in the hospital."

"Oh. You're sure she is ok with this? I feel like her wedding is turning into a three ringed circus because of me."

"I'm positive, Bella. In fact she's on her way here now to drop the invitation off. I not only wanted to know you were safe while I fulfilled my best man responsibilities, but I thought that you'd enjoy the comfort of having someone you know with you while I did. The only other people you will know will obviously also be busy with the wedding, so I didn't want you to be alone and uncomfortable around a bunch of strangers."

"Thank you," I told him, grateful once again for him being the wonderful man that he was. As independent as I was, I was also starting to like the idea of someone else looking after me as well. As long as that someone else was Edward.

"You're welcome. Now unfortunately I have to go. Alice will be by soon and then I need to change clothes so that I can finish up that alarm job. I love you, Bella."

"I love you too, and I'll let you know as soon as I talk to Emmett."

"Sounds good. I'll get there just as soon as I can."

"Ok."

I ended the call and got up to go make sure Emmett would be able to stay with me. Once he confirmed he was, I sent Edward a quick text message to let him know. He replied asking me to thank Emmett and again promised to be here as quickly as he could.

On the way back through the main office I noticed it was unusually quiet. Looking around I realized Jessica and Sam weren't anywhere to be seen. Stopping at Tyler's desk I asked, "Hey, Ty, where's everyone today?"

"Oh hey, Bella," he replied with a smile. "Jess took a few personal days and I think she will be out the rest of the week, and I'm not sure about Sam. I think I overheard him on the phone the other day talking to someone about a treatment for his kid. So maybe that was today. Why?"

"Oh I was just curious. It's so quiet in here today," I said, speaking too soon.

Tyler and I both turned to face Jake when we heard him bellowing into his cell phone, "No. That won't work. No deal." He abruptly ended the call and slammed the device down on his desk.

"What?" he asked gruffly, when he noticed the two of us staring at him.

"Didn't get your morning cup of coffee, Agent Black? You're awfully cranky for someone who should be happy after just having a long holiday weekend." Maybe I shouldn't, but yes, I was taunting him. Much like he had done to me the first time we came face to face after my return.

"Well, maybe it wasn't a fun and relaxing holiday for all of us, Swan," he sneered back at me.

"Well. That's too bad," I said, turning up the cheer level in my voice to further annoy him. I then told Tyler I'd talk to him later and left the two men alone in the front office.

Sitting back down at my desk, I again started going through the file on James Reynolds. I was searching for something, anything that would give me a clue as to why he was harassing me. I couldn't shake the feeling that it was more than just revenge for my part in his conviction. Going through the file page by page, I made notes on the information that I thought would be most valuable to me. This would keep me from having to dig through his file again. One of the big things I already knew about him was that he had been raised by his father after his mother ran out on them when he was just six years old. My thoughts were that this was the root cause for all of his issues with women. I was certain he had abandonment issues and that may have been the behavior that led to his rape and murder spree. He had disclosed he felt these women were going to leave him which would cause those feelings of abandonment to resurface.

I now also had the complete file on all of his victims. Since learning about my resemblance to a few of them, Emmett had been able to obtain their information for me with the hopes that it might give us some clues. What I realized I was missing was information on his girlfriend. His file stated that she had died in some sort of an accident, but beyond that there was nothing other than the fact that his victims resembled her greatly. Although he had eventually confessed to the crimes he was accused of, he had never given any indication that it had anything to do with the girlfriend. He had just told me they had all betrayed him, lied to him, and wanted to leave. This information backed up my abandonment theory and my belief that his issues caused his mental state to deteriorate which led to the crimes he had committed.

However, I had a feeling abandonment wasn't the only thing driving his actions. Now that I knew about the appearance of his victims, I was fairly certain that on some level he had been trying to replace the girlfriend he'd lost when he'd chosen each victim. This made me wonder if that was part of his obsession with me. I didn't look like the girlfriend as much as his victims did, but there were enough similarities in our characteristics for someone with a demented mind and warped sense of reality to become fixated on what was there. I needed to get more on the girlfriend. I didn't want to have to contact this girl's family if I didn't have to, but I would if it became necessary.

I was shocked when my phone beeped alerting me of a new text, and I saw that it was past five o'clock and realized the afternoon had flown by. The text was from Edward, letting me know he'd be here in about fifteen minutes. I wrote down the girlfriend's name and the town she was from so I could have a background check run on her, plus get any additional details on her death. Then I shut down my laptop and gathered the rest of my things.

I made my way up front to Emmett's office and it appeared everyone but the two of us had left for the day. I dropped my things into the chair in front of his desk and asked him to get the ball rolling on the girlfriend's info. He picked up the phone, making the call to get it in motion. I headed back towards the door to his office, telling him I was headed to the bathroom. He nodded he had heard me and began talking to the person on the other end of the line.

Finished in the bathroom, I washed my hands and applied a fresh coat of lip gloss. I was rounding the corner to the hall leading back to Emmett's office when I was shocked to see Jake coming out of the break room up ahead. Hoping I could walk right past him without having to so much as utter a word to him, I lowered my head to avoid making eye contact with him or acknowledge his presence. I really did despise him that much and I wasn't even sure why. He had always rubbed me the wrong way, even before his first obnoxious advance towards me had occurred.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Jake asked sarcastically. "You're working late tonight huh, doll face?"

Unable to avoid it any longer, I looked up to find him standing in the center of the hall, blocking my path. "Get out of my way, Jake. I've had a long day and I don't want any shit from you," I ordered coming to a stop a short distance in front of him.

Even with the walking cast on his broken foot, he closed the distance between us in two long strides. I tried to sidestep him and go around him, but I somehow ended up backed against the wall with his mangy face hovering a few inches away from mine.

"You obviously don't remember what happened the last time you tried to corner me," I hissed at him.

"Oh, come on now, doll face, why do we need to rehash that painful memory? Why can't you just go out with me and we can forget that ever happened? Surely once you have a taste of Jake, you'll be anxious to make amends for that little debacle," he said, bringing his hand up to cup my cheek.

I wanted to vomit as my skin crawled from the feeling of his hand on me. I closed my eyes and to try and calm myself and control my feelings of being so grossed out by his touch.

Finally opening my eyes and staring straight into his, I spoke through clenched teeth in an attempt to control my anger, "Jake, I am only going to say this once. Back the fuck up unless you want a repeat performance of the last time. And this time, I can promise you I'm filing a formal complaint."

He had the nerve to laugh at me and then say, "You wouldn't do that. You love this little game we play as much as I do. If you were going to file a complaint, you would've already done it by now."

Before I could respond, Edward appeared behind Jake and grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back. His face was red and the veins at his temples were bulging. He was more furious than I'd ever seen him.

"I suggest you keep your fucking hands off of her like the lady asked, or she won't have to file a complaint. I'll handle it myself," Edward growled.

Jake removed his hand from my face and turned to face Edward. "Just who the fuck do you think you are?" he asked.

"You know, I told you once before it was none of your damn business, but maybe since you seem to be daft in understanding what you're told, I'll tell you again. It's none of your fucking business. Just know if you ever lay a hand on her or utter another word to Bella without being spoken to by her first, you will live to regret it. Got it?"

Jake had a cocky smirk on his face and apparently didn't know what was good for him because the next thing out of his mouth was, "You don't scare me, pretty boy."

Before I'd had a chance to try and diffuse the confrontation between the two of them, Edward had slammed Jake into the glass wall of the break room so hard the glass cracked. Jake then received a double introduction to Edward's fist. The first one landed square on Jake's left jaw, leaving him momentarily stunned. The next one forced a loud umpf from Jake as it landed in his gut and caused him to double over and clutch his mid section.

Emmett must have heard all the commotion and was on his way towards us hollering, "What the hell is going on?" He pulled Edward off of Jake just as Edward was about to land a third punch. "One of you care to explain?"

Edward had moved to stand at my side with his hand resting on the small of my back in support while I filled Emmett in on what had occurred. Jake however, was still fuming. He was clenching his hands in to fists and staring Edward down as if he were ready to go another round. Once I finished relaying the facts, it was clear Emmett was pissed. I could see the muscles twitching in his jaw as he held back the tongue lashing I was sure he wanted to give Jake. I knew he had warned Jake after the elevator incident that if it happened again he'd be reprimanded.

"If you have any hope or prayer of saving your ass, not to mention your job, you better get your ass in my office now and wait for me." Jake opened his mouth to say something, but Emmett, cut him off before he could," Don't say another word until I tell you too."

Jake huffed and took off down the hall as fast as he could, his foot with the cast on it thumping loudly in his anger.

"You two…Bella's office now," Emmett ordered while pointing at Edward and me. "I'll let you know when I'm finished with him." Emmett then turned and walked towards his office.

Just as he had said he would, when he was finished with Jake, Emmett called my office and asked us to join him in his. As the three of us sat down, I started to apologize to Emmett but he said it wasn't necessary. He knew that Jake had been harassing me for a while and had hoped that threatening him with disciplinary action the last time would put an end to it. Edward offered to pay for the glass replacement and Emmett told him that he wasn't the only one responsible for the situation so he'd inform Jake that he was being held accountable for half the cost.

"So what did he have to say and do I need to go to HR and file a formal complaint against him?" I asked.

"Hell yeah you need to file a complaint," Edward interjected.

Sighing, Emmett scratched the back of his head and then proceeded to say, "We have a bit of a quandary. Bella, I wish it were as simple as sending you to HR to file a complaint, but it's not."

"I'm not sure I follow," I told him.

"If you go to HR and file a formal complaint against him and they pull the security camera footage from the last incident in the elevator, with the zero tolerance policy he is going to be let go."

"And that's a problem why? That prick had his hands on her," Edward grumbled.

"I know he did, Edward. And I get where you're coming from. If it'd been Rose the jackass would be lucky he walked away."

"Ok so then if you understand, what's the problem?" was Edward's next question as he ran his hands through his hair for the fifth or sixth time. I had lost count on the exact number, but I had come to recognize this as a coping method of sorts for him. It helped him remain calm and control his frustration when he was extremely upset.

"Just settle down and listen to me for a minute," Emmett told him.

Edward sat down and Emmett began to explain. "While I would love nothing more than to have Bella file a formal complaint against him and see him served his walking papers, the reality of the situation is that we could be letting the very person we are trying to catch go free. Surely you know the old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Emmett paused and rubbed his hands over his face a few times. Releasing a heavy sigh of frustration he then said, "Look, I know the way he is treating you, Bella, is completely wrong and he deserves to have his ass handed to him. After the incident in the elevator I told him that I was putting in a request for him to be transferred to the Portland office. However, before the transfer could go through the shit hit the fan and we suspected someone here in the office as Reynolds' accomplice. So I had to get him cleared of that first and I am still working to do that. Unfortunately until that clearance comes through he has to stay put. If he would turn out to be the accomplice we want to keep him right here under our noses where we can watch him."

"So you have to wait for him to be cleared, I understand that. But please tell me in the meantime you're not going to just let him get away with it?" I cried.

"No, Bella. I'm going to suspend him for two weeks with the threat of you filing a formal report. I sent his ass home and told him I needed to cool down before I sent him packing myself and that he better hope that I can talk you out of making an official report."

"Ok and if he doesn't agree?"

"If he gives me a hassle and doesn't want to accept my offer then I will give you the go ahead to file a formal complaint. I want to try and contain the situation right now, but I will not tolerate his treatment of you any longer."

"You won't have to. If there's a next time, I can guarantee you it will be the last time," Edward promised while clenching the hand he'd used to hit Jake with.

I didn't like not being able to go through with the threat I'd made to Jake, but I agreed with Emmett's assessment of the situation. Edward must have agreed too since he didn't argue with what Emmett wanted to do. But I knew he was serious about his threat and would have no problems carrying it out.

We talked for a few more minutes; Edward gave Emmett the invitation to Alice's wedding. Emmett looked at his calendar and was pretty certain they didn't have anything going on that weekend since they had left it open in case I had chosen to stay with them. He said that he was sure Rose would welcome the opportunity to get away and spend some time with me. Edward let him know that they were welcome to attend the rehearsal dinner as well as the breakfast the morning after the wedding, but also understood if they wanted to make plans on their own.

Edward talked to Emmett briefly about our visit to the prison tomorrow. He wanted to know what time we were going and needed confirmation from Emmett that he thought some good could come from me seeing Reynolds. I interjected myself into the conversation and by the time the three of us were finished discussing it, I could tell that even though he still wasn't thrilled with the idea of me going to see Reynolds, he understood why I not only wanted but needed to go.

We didn't talk about it the rest of the night. I was sad to learn that if Edward's employee Mike wasn't over his bout with the flu, that Edward may have to work on Saturday. Regardless, I was looking forward to our weekend at his loft. After a quiet dinner and some relaxing in front of the TV, we called it a night and went to bed.

_**July 7, 2010**_

We had just pulled up to the security gate at Stafford. It was located in a very rural area of Aberdeen amongst several fields and wooded lands to help it blend into the country side.

Having been cleared by the guard, Emmett parked and we made our way to the entrance to the facility. Once inside, the three of us showed our FBI IDs and Emmett stated that we were there to see Reynolds.

"It's been preauthorized," Emmett stated when asked by the security guard.

After the three of us signed in with the electronic signature pad, I remembered that we had never received our printed out copies of the log. I nudged Emmett to get his attention, and then motioned for him to lean over so I could whisper in his ear, "We never got the copies of the sign in logs, did we?"

"No. I have every intention of doing so today," he replied.

I nodded and watched as the security guard made the call to have Reynolds moved to the visitation cell.

Once they had Reynolds secured in the new cell, three guards went with us to the cell; One in front of us and the other two in the back. It was regulation to have a guard per visitor for such high profile and dangerous convicts so that if the visitors needed to be detained for any reason, the guards wouldn't be outnumbered.

At the cell there was another guard standing at its door. The small space was really more of an interrogation room than a cell and was equipped with two way mirror and surveillance cameras. Emmett and Edward were led into the room next to it so they could view the visit through the two way glass. One guard stood outside the door to their room, the one outside the interrogation room remained in his spot, and the other two entered the room with me.

I took a deep breath to calm myself and looked in the corner of the ceiling, waiting for the video camera to come on to indicate that it had begun to record. The visits were always recorded as part of the security system, as well as for any evidence that could be used against him. If Reynolds let anything slip, I wanted to have solid proof of it.

The second the camera clicked on, Reynolds looked up at me. He wore the standard issued orange jumpsuit and looked as though he hadn't shaved in days. Reynolds exuded an air of smugness. I could sense he was pleased to see me. There was a hint of a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. For the moment he thought he had the upper hand.

"Agent Swan, it's been quite a while since I've had the pleasure of your company. I was sincerely pleased to hear of your visit," he said with a smile. As sickening as it made me feel, he was telling the truth and was actually very excited to see me.

"Don't flatter yourself into thinking this is anything other than official business," I retorted.

"Well isn't that so very interesting considering I've already been tried and convicted. What official business could we possibly have to discuss?" he asked sarcastically.

Almost as if he were bored, he leaned back in the chair in a half-slouched position. He then folded his arms across his chest as best as he could, given the fact he had shackles on his ankles and wrists with one also linking the two together, further hampering his movements.

He might be trying to act as though this visit meant nothing to him, that it was no big deal, but it was all part of his very cocky and arrogant attitude he normally had just as he had all of the other times I had visited him. The arrogance was pouring from him now. God, how I hated him. It was time to get to the point of my being there and hope that I never had to lay eyes on him again after today.

"I've got some questions I need you to answer and then I'll be on my way," I told him, walking across the room and standing directly across from where he was sitting at the table.

"And what if I choose not to answer them?" he asked and I could tell right away that he was testing me. He was curious. My guess was he wanted to see if his harassment had rattled me at all. I kept my breathing even and my gaze focused on him. I refused to let him see my confidence waver even the tiniest amount. I was good at this part of my job; I could make people think I was calm and collected when in reality I might be anything but.

I leaned forward and placed my hands on the back of the chair that was in front of me. Staring him straight in the eye I said, "Go ahead and refuse. I'll be out that door and never return faster than you can count to ten."

His mood instantly shifted from one of confidence to one of fear and remorse. He didn't want me to leave. And he knew I had caught him. I could feel his resentment over the fact he couldn't hide it from me. This only gave me more confidence.

"Want me to go? Or are you ready to talk?" I asked giving him once last chance before I walked away.

"Well of course I'll talk. I was simply asking what you would do; I never said that I wouldn't actually answer your questions." Such an arrogant bastard. Always wanting to try and take control over the situation. His mind games did nothing to me.

"Do you miss Sarah, James?" I asked, causing his head to snap up from the back of the chair with lightening speed. "Yes that's right. I know all about Sarah now." Emmett had been given me the information on Reynolds' dead girlfriend's background check this morning as soon as I arrived at work. I had spent the two hour drive here reading over it.

Reynolds didn't say anything, but the shock he was feeling over me having discovered the one woman he had never mentioned to me was overwhelming.

"Don't worry. I know you didn't kill her. I'm not here to try and get you to confess to her death. Her death was a horrible accident that had witnesses to verify that fact. But you and I know all the ones after her were not accidents. We've already gone over that before. Although, you know, James, I'm a little disappointed that you never told me how they all looked like Sarah."

"You mean how they all look like you, right?" he asked and then shook his head in a disbelieving manner. "I find it really quite ironic that all those times you said you understood me, that you wanted to help me get the truth out, you were completely oblivious. Yet the people pulling your strings, the same ones who were sending you here knew the truth all along. Or at least one truth. Besides, what difference does it make? Doesn't change anything. They're still dead and I'm here." The smug grin on his face made me want to puke violently as I struggled to not show my feelings. He talked about the deaths of these women with such a cavalier attitude as if their lives had meant nothing. He was pulling out all the stops today; testing me, trying to throw me off my game. I could tell he thought he was winning too—the wave of satisfaction rolling off of him was intense.

I did my best to hold my ground and keep up the tough exterior. I snorted in mock amusement at him to brush off his smugness. "I think you need to get your vision checked. We might have similar hair and eye colors, but that's where the resemblance ends. I don't look like your victims or your Sarah. Tell me about her, James. Did you love her? Were you capable of feeling love before your sickness took over?"

I knew instantly I'd hit a nerve. His whole demeanor changed. His posture became more rigid and his facial expression changed, turning the smile he'd been sporting into a glare of hate. "You think I'm sick," he sneered. "You're the one who came here over and over, begging for every little detail of what I did to those back stabbing, unfaithful whores. You're the one who couldn't stay away from me. That's why you're here again today."

I smiled at him as a parent would a child in the middle of a temper tantrum. "It's ok, James. It's apparent you're still grieving over Sarah. It's almost…well, it's almost human of you. You should know it's quite common for murderers like yourself to associate your victims with loved ones on some level." I didn't clue him in on my suspicion about the connection between his mother and his girlfriend both having left him behind.

He sat unusually quiet, his face a calm mask. But judging by the slew of emotions I felt coming from him, he was anything but calm. It was too much to try and pick out one emotion to play on, so I decided to pry a little more and get him talking. I needed answers and was prepared to lie and lead him astray if I needed. I had to figure out what he thought our connection was. He hadn't had anything to do with how I came to be involved in his case; that responsibility laid jointly on the FBI and the Seattle PD. There had to be something more. Something other than just the similar appearances I had with the other women had him convinced we were somehow destined to meet. This belief was his reason for his fixation on me and I had to know why.

"You know, James, I understand your attraction to those women. I'm not condoning what you did to them, it's reprehensible, but I understand why you chose them."

"You do?" he asked.

"Sure, it's normal for you to want to hold on to someone you loved and lost." _Keep playing on his emotions for the girlfriend, Bella. Make him think you understand him, _I thought to myself.

He nodded.

"You must have thought it to be some sort of sign when I was assigned to your case."

"No. I don't believe in signs, Isabella. That would be your hang up because you need for everything to make sense to you. I just go with the flow, letting the chips fall where they may and call it as I see it. You were brought to me. My prize. My apology for all those unappreciative whores who wanted to leave me."

"I'm not yours in any way, shape, or form, James. I'm not your reward, prize or your anything. And I'll never be with you. I will walk out of this prison when this visit is over and go back to my life. But not you. No. You will stay right here."

"You can tell yourself that, but you'll be back. Just like you are here today, you'll be back again. You'll see."

Even though I could feel the surety pouring off him, I decided to do my best and rattle him. "Why do you lie to yourself like that, James? Surely you didn't forget I can tell. You don't really believe I want anything to do with you. Oh, you might have dreamt about it, but you know just as well as I do that it will never happen."

I'd expected anger and hostility, and resentment from him. But not the surge of satisfaction and the big smile I got from him. "Did you like the apples?" he asked.

I was shocked and unable to respond right away. I had hoped to get him to let some little clue slip, but I had never expected him to actually admit to having sent the apples. I fought off the chill running along my spine, knowing that I had to remain strong and unaffected.

"Such a waste," I said and I could see I had piqued his curiosity. "Never did like apples. Trashed them all without even giving it a thought. But now that you've mentioned them, let's talk about them. Who's helping you, James?"

"Really? You're gonna ask me that?" he said leaning back in his chair, looking pleased. "We both know you want to know why, not who. I missed you, Isabella. I knew you'd be back, but I didn't want to wait. So I figured I'd send you a token of my affection and you'd come sooner."

"Well, you really should have chosen something more appropriate to describe your feelings, James. After all, apples are the forbidden fruit, a symbol of betrayal, not affection."

Unfazed by my statement, he smiled. "We both know what you are to me, my darling. And one day, one day very soon, we will be together just like we were meant to be."

I'd had enough of Reynolds' arrogant bullshit. His last statement not only creeped me out, but it reminded me I needed to move this visit along. It was wearing on me and I couldn't imagine it was easy on Edward to be watching either. "Who is helping you, James?"

"No one of importance. Just admit that I fascinate you and that you want to be with me and I can quit having others do my bidding for me. You can help me. You understand me like the others didn't. You make me tell the truth. I need you to save me."

"Then tell me the truth now. Tell me who it is. You give me the name or names of those who have been assisting you and I'll tell you what you want to know," I offered, and I was telling the truth as well. He might not hear what he wanted too, but I would tell him exactly how I felt.

"No," he stated bluntly.

"No?" I asked harshly in my frustration. "You know, next month you'll be off to San Quentin. It's going to be awfully hard to communicate with your little helper."

Emmett had informed me this morning that due to Reynolds' continued harassment of me and in an effort to get him to give up his accomplice, I could dangle a solitary confinement threat at Reynolds. Our superiors had made the arrangements. He was already scheduled to go to San Quentin where his execution would be carried out. But instead of being on death row with the others facing the same fate as he was, they said his harassment was enough for him to be still considered a threat to others even while being locked behind bars.

"What are you talking about?"

"Well first there is the distance issue. A couple of states are a lot harder to travel than a couple of hours to do your bidding. I guess you still have phone calls, but I can get a court order to have those taken away as well. It's simple, you don't want to give up who is helping you, then we will make it impossible for you to contact anyone. Maybe a stint in solitary confinement will have you singing a different tune."

I'd pissed him off good now. Anger was rolling off him. I had a feeling a box of apples were coming my way in the near future. But other than the incident at the house we checked out, no harm had come to me or anyone I loved. So my hope was to get through the next six weeks and then once Reynolds was sealed away in the bowels of San Quentin, I would be able to get some normalcy back in my life. Things couldn't go on as they were indefinitely. Our other hope was that if James got desperate to do something before his move, he or his accomplice might make a mistake leading us to that person's identity.

"What grounds do you have for solitary?" he asked through his tightly pursed lips.

"You have remained a threat to others even though you're incarcerated."

"How am I a threat? I'm locked away. I can't hurt anyone."

"You just admitted to harassment, sending the apples, James. The proof is on that camera overhead. So I offer you one last chance to help yourself. To at least be able to live out your last days being allowed visits from your family."

"I think I'd prefer to take that information to the grave with me," he answered coldly.

"You do that. Goodbye, James," I said as I got up from the chair I'd been sitting in.

"It's only goodbye until next time," he replied smugly.

I stood at the end of the table and said, "The next time I visit you will be the day you are sent to your death. The day you receive your lethal injection."

I then turned and walked towards the door. As the security guard unlocked the door and opened it, James called after me, "You'll be back. I still have the information you want."

"No, James, I won't. This game is over. I quit, I refuse play anymore. "

I exited the room without looking back. Edward was waiting for me in the hall and upon reaching him I practically collapsed into his arms. I had wanted to do this. And as good as it was to see Reynolds was still here and to see those chains binding him, it was so much more emotionally draining than I had expected it to be.

I buried my face into Edward's chest and fought back the sobs that were threatening to escape.

"Shhh, Sweetness," he cooed. "It's ok, I got you now. You were so brave and so strong in there. I'm so proud of you."

I nodded, knowing he was right. When I heard the door open, I pulled away slightly and straightened my posture, not wanting Reynolds to see how hard this had been on me. As Reynolds was escorted past us, he glared at Edward and me when he noticed our position. I had turned around, but Edward's arms were still wrapped around me.

When Reynolds was out of sight, I turned back around and asked Edward where Emmett was.

"He's gone to get the copies of the sign in log and wanted us to meet him back up front."

"Then let's go. I want to get the hell out of here."

On the way home the three of us discussed my conversation with Reynolds. I hadn't gained a lot of new information, but I was more confident about some of my theories. Reynolds was obsessed with me due to my appearance and I found myself again frustrated that Emmett and my superiors had kept that from me. Reynolds also had some sick idea that because I could tell when he was lying that I could help him. It was as if he was looking for some sort of salvation, forgiveness for something and he thought I could help him achieve that. We were no closer to knowing who his accomplice was, but he had readily admitted to having one. Emmett and I wanted to try and use the fact that he had admitted to having someone working for him on the outside to come up with a plan to possibly smoke out the mole by pretending that we knew who he or she was.

We had arrived back at the office around three in the afternoon. Emmett had told me to go home and rest. He said I'd been through enough today and he'd get started on going through the logs now that we finally had them. Hopefully there'd be a visitor that stood out to give us some kind of clue.

Over the next two days, Emmett and I both looked over the visitor logs from the prison and none of the visitors on the list were anyone who shouldn't have been to see Reynolds. From our office there had been Emmett, Seth, and myself. All three of us were authorized to see him and should have at various times been to see him. His brother and sister had both been there and that was it other than his attorney. But even so, I couldn't help shake the feeling that we were missing something right in front of us.

The attorney was one person we had not considered. And if it was possible for a federal agent to be the accomplice then it certainly was possible for an attorney to be the one. After all he would have unlimited access to Reynolds nearly anytime he wished.

By late Friday afternoon, Emmett and I, along with Edward's input, began to put together some ideas for a plan to out the traitor. Hopefully soon we would be able to put it into motion.

But planning these things took time. It had been an exhausting week and I was looking forward to spending the weekend at Edward's loft. Mike had recovered from the flu so Edward's weekend was free.

Emmett and Rose had agreed to go to the wedding and I was excited for that. I had not been looking forward to being alone with a bunch of strangers while Edward played best man. Rose and I had roped Edward and Emmett into a shopping spree so we could get new dresses for the wedding. I missed my time with her. Our friendship had gotten shuffled to the back burner with everything else that had been going on in my life and I couldn't wait to spend time with her and see what she'd been up to.

So as we pulled out of the parking garage of the federal building, Edward and I promised ourselves to try and keep our thoughts as far away from James Reynolds and the mess he had made of our lives. We wanted to make this weekend as normal as possible. In addition to shopping, we were going to extend an invitation to his sister and Jasper as well as Em and Rose for a bar-b-que at Edward's place. The rest of the time we planned to relax and do everything we could to be a normal couple in love. I couldn't wait.

**So, I am curious to see what you think about the prison visit. Let me know. Oh and who of us wouldn't want to spend a weekend with Edward at his loft. I'll have the teaser up on Monday as well as some pictures of E's loft. Have a great weekend! **

**EA~**


	17. The Only Exception

**Hello again! I hope you have all had an amazing week. Thank you Hope4more and My Bella. As I say each week, you guys rock. **

**I also want to thank all of you who take the time to read, review, alert and favorite this story. There is rarely a day that goes by where I don't receive an alert or favorite notification in the mail, and it just blows me away the support you guys give me. I think you guys will really enjoy this chapter. Warning it contains content of the citrusy nature. Been a while since I could say that huh? **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all. **

_And I've always lived like this  
Keeping a comfortable, distance  
And up until now  
I had sworn to myself that I'm  
Content with loneliness_

_Because none of it was ever worth the risk_

_Well, You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
You, are, the only exception  
_

_**The Only Exception by Paramore**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**July 9, 2010**_

After stopping by Bella's house for her to get the bag she had packed last night, we drove to my loft, grabbing some Chinese take out on the way. The last few days had been really hard emotionally on Bella and she was exhausted. Visiting Reynolds had not been easy on her. I was relieved when she had come out of the interrogation room unscathed—at least physically and I was so proud of the way she stood up to him.

While we ate, Bella looked around the loft, taking in her new surroundings. Once we were done, she got up and wandered around. I stayed put in my spot on the couch and enjoyed watching her. I loved seeing her in my home. Bella was the only woman I had cared enough about to allow into my home. Before I lived here, Chelsea and I had lived in the same apartment building and when she refused to leave me alone after our breakup, I knew it was time to move. But it felt right for Bella to be here with me. Something just seemed to click, like she was meant to be here. There were no past memories of other women to erase. It was all ours to break in. Our blank canvas to paint. She was the first and I hoped she would be the _last._

"This place is amazing. I love the exposed brick," she said as she ran her hand across the rough texture of the wall. "The contrast between the brick and the wood of the ceiling beams is awesome. The brick gives the sense of cool and hard, while the wood feels warm and cozy. They balance each other. Not to mention all the natural light you must have in here during the day. It must be incredible."

"It is and you will see tomorrow. Come on, I wanna show you something," I said as I got up and took her hand and led her upstairs. The upper level of the loft was split into two rooms, the master bedroom and a guest room with a huge bathroom between the two.

"Edward, are you trying to get me into your bedroom?" she asked with a teasing smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. If she only knew how badly I wanted to have her in my bed. But that was not where I was taking her now.

"Not yet, Sweetness," I said as I winked at her.

Once we were upstairs, I led her to the guest bedroom. I pulled her over to the small pair of French doors which opened to a small balcony. It was just big enough to allow for a small bistro table and a chair to sit on and enjoy the view. You could just barely see over the neighboring building that the sun was about to set over the sound.

"Where does this go?" she asked, noticing the narrow stairs that began on the balcony and zigzagged up the side of the building to the roof.

"That is what I wanted to show you." Holding out my hand and motioning for her to go up, I said, "After you."

"It is safe, right?" she asked as she hesitantly placed her foot on the bottom step.

Rolling my eyes at her, I replied, "Bella, would I let you on them if they weren't? You do trust me, don't you?"

"Of course, bu—"

I placed my fingers over her lips to silence her. Replacing my fingers with my lips, I gave her a lingering kiss and then again motioned for her to climb up the steps. Quirking her brow, she gave me a quizzical look, but did as I asked while I followed right behind her—enjoying the view of her backside as I did.

I knew once we reached the top she would see exactly why I loved this loft so much. It was my favorite thing about the place. And what was even better was that the lower unit didn't have access to it. The unit below mine had a nice courtyard patio, but I wouldn't trade that for this bird's eye view any day. Both units had been available when I was looking to move and I choose this one specifically for the roof top access. The real estate agent said she would've made the same choice.

Reaching the top, I took Bella's hand again and led her across the roof to the west side. We stopped and leaned against the metal rail that surrounded the rooftop patio.

I pointed out to Puget Sound and told her, "Look." No longer being hampered by any of the surrounding buildings, we now had a clear view of the sound and the amazing sunset.

I stood behind her with my arms wrapped around her as she leaned back against me. Looking down at her as she took in the view, I found it impossible to take my eyes off of her. I had seen the sunset from up here and even a few sunrises too, so watching her was far better than anything else to me. Bella glanced up over her shoulder at me. Her face was glowing in the warm tones of the setting sun. It reminded me of our time in Capri and while the sunsets we had witnessed there and this one here were beautiful, they had nothing on her. Nothing was more beautiful than her in my eyes.

"It's gorgeous. No wonder you like living here so much. The loft itself is awesome but you add the view and it would be impossible to turn down."

"They're not as spectacular as the sunsets we saw in Italy, but they're nice," I said, kissing the top of her head.

"Is this where we will have the bar-b-que tomorrow?" she asked glancing around and seeing the gas grill and patio furniture I had placed up here.

"Yes," I said as we walked around the roof until we came to the set of lounge chairs. I pulled her down onto one with me. We laid there holding each other and kissing until the sun had set completely and the air turned chilly.

Back inside I showed her the guest room, my room, and the bathroom. Upon seeing the oversized tub I had Bella declared that she was commandeering it later for a nice long soak. I told her it was hers anytime she wanted to use it. _Maybe someday she'd even let me join her._

We went back downstairs and curled up together on the couch. Bella flipped through the channels on the TV until she came across one of those crime scene shows. She said she liked to watch them and pick apart how they solved the crimes and so on. I was a little surprised that she'd want to watch this type of show since we were making it a point to try and not talk about anything related to James Reynolds or the case this weekend. But as I listened to her say they'd never do this or should have done this, it was actually quite entertaining. She said some of the shows on today were very realistic, but others were full of trumped up stuff to get people to watch them. After about an hour and a half she let out a huge yawn and declared that she was ready for her soak in my tub. I showed her where everything was and after kissing her for several minutes I released her so she could enjoy her bath.

I went back downstairs and tried to occupy myself and not think about the fact that Bella was upstairs in my bathroom naked and wet. It wasn't an easy thing to do. Thoughts of her in my tub caused images of the day she had sprayed herself down after she'd washed her car to fill my mind. My head and my heart were telling me it was too soon to jump back into a physical relationship with her, that I had to take things at her pace, but my body was screaming just the opposite. Sleeping next to her every night and feeling her body pressed up against mine was bliss and torture all at the same time. I loved being there with her, having her in my arms all night long, but I was also yearning to touch her and make love to her again.

My thoughts shifted to the conversation we'd had the other day. I'd been sleeping in her room with her ever since the night we came back from her parent's house. After the first few days of me going back and forth between the two rooms to get what I needed, Bella said there was no way she was sleeping without me again so I should just move all of my stuff into her room. I was a little concerned that she was using me as a security blanket of sorts. I tried to not make a big deal about it but in the end I had to know if it was because she wanted me there for me or because of the bad dreams she'd been having, since it was the dreams that instigated my being there in the first place. Once we talked about it she assured me that while it may have started out because of the dreams, she loved having me in bed next to her and wanted me there because she loved me and didn't want to be away from me. Bella also told me that she'd only had one nightmare since we'd been out to the prison and it wasn't as intense as the others. Her explanation came as a relief to me. If she had been keeping me there because of the dreams, I would have stayed. But I would have also suggested that she talk to someone about her dreams, that they may be bothering her more than they should. It appeared that confronting Reynolds and seeing he was indeed still locked up gave her the result she had hoped it would.

Not wanting to be away from her any longer and thinking she'd be done with her bath soon, I made sure the loft was locked up, the alarm was set and then grabbed her bag, taking it upstairs to my room with me. I snickered to myself when it dawned on me that she'd been so excited to get in the tub, she'd forgotten to take her bag with her, meaning she wouldn't have anything to wear with her in the bathroom.

I got undressed and slipped into a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Lounging across my bed I turned on the TV and caught up on all the local news while I waited for Bella to be finished with her bath. I was only slightly disappointed when she emerged from the bathroom, wearing one of my button-down shirts. And I say only slightly because even though I had hoped she'd be in nothing more than a towel, she was damn sexy wearing my clothes.

"Um… I hope you don't mind. It seems in my haste to try out your tub, I forgot my bag downstairs." She had a hint of pink on her cheeks as she pulled her bottom lip in between her teeth while she leaned against the doorway, waiting for my reply.

Instead of answering her, I got up and moved across the room to her. I cupped her face with both my hands and lowered my mouth to hers. In an effort to get closer to me, I felt her raise up on her tip toes, pressing her warm body against mine. Nudging her lips apart with my tongue, she readily responded and opened up, allowing me entrance into her mouth. Her hands slid up my chest and came to rest on my shoulders where she gripped them tightly to hold herself in her current position. Holding onto her hips, I eased her back against the wall. Bella must have felt more balanced with the hard surface behind her for support because she let one of her hands fall and wrap around me, fisting in the back of my shirt while the other tugged on my hair. I pressed my knee between her legs, effectively pinning her in place.

Pulling away from our heated kiss and panting to catch her breath, she leaned her head back, allowing me access to the silky smooth skin on her neck. "You found the body wash my sister insisted I keep here," I murmured while inhaling the floral scent encompassing her. The body wash had been sitting there unused since Alice and my mother helped me decorate shortly after I moved in here. At the time I'd thought it'd be a waste, but as my mouth moved along Bella's jaw and down her neck to the sweet spot where it met her shoulder, I was grateful I let them talk me into it. The smell was intoxicating on her.

"Unh huh," was the only sound she was able to form coherently, as I sucked and nibbled my way across her collarbone.

Bella had begun to move, just slightly grinding against my leg and I knew this was the moment of truth, the point of no return if we continued on. I knew what I wanted and she had to know too as tightly as our bodies were pressed together. The loose fabric of my shorts was worthless in concealing my body's response to hers.

I slowly slid my hand up her side until it was resting just below her breast. "Sweetness," I whispered against her lips before kissing her softly. Knowing exactly what I meant, that I was asking her for permission before I went any further, she released her grip on my shirt and placed her hand on top of mine and slid it up over her breast.

Caressing her pert nipple, back and forth, with the pad of my thumb elicited a soft moan from her parted lips. I teased her, swiping my tongue across her lips, but pulling back as she tried to capture it with hers. Loving the sight of her small pink tongue darting out of her mouth, I did this two more times. When attempting it again, she jerked me forward with her fingers knotted firmly in my hair and crashed her mouth to mine, kissing me hungrily.

We became a tangled mess of hands and lips as we ground into one another. Untangling her fingers from my hair, Bella hooked her thumbs under the hem of my shirt and pulled it up as her hands slid up my abdomen. Momentarily separating our lips, I tugged the shirt up over my head and dropped it to the floor. Her hands were then everywhere, gliding over my chest, caressing my arms and shoulders. Her touch set my body on fire, igniting a flame that wouldn't be tamed until I had her.

Wanting to move us to a more comfortable location, I reached down to cup her ass and lift her up when I realized there was nothing under the shirt she had on.

"Fuck, Bella," I breathed against her neck. "You're not wearing any underwear."

"Didn't…have…clean ones," she panted. It seemed my Sweetness had a feistier side of herself locked up inside just dying to get out. I felt her lips form a smile as she pressed a kiss against my bare chest.

My back starting to groan from the semi bent position I was in, I picked her up and moaned the second I felt the warm moistness of her bare center against my stomach.

Carrying her to my bed, I gently laid her down. With her legs and arms still wrapped around me I was situated between her legs in a perfect position to enter her if it weren't for my shorts. Plunging my tongue back into her mouth, I began to unfasten the buttons of my shirt she was wearing. When it became too difficult to reach the lower buttons, I ripped the shirt apart not even caring if I ruined it.

She arched her back as I trailed kisses down her neck and chest until I reached the raised flesh of her breast. I flicked my tongue over the hard peak of her nipple before engulfing it in my mouth.

In my increased state of arousal, instinct took over and I began to grind against her. "Oh God, Edward," she moaned, struggling to get the words out while fisting her hands in my hair. When she started moving in time with me, our bodies rubbing against each other, desperate for any amount of friction we could find, I knew I had to be sure, I had to hear the words from her. I never wanted there to be any regrets about our love making.

Reluctantly I removed my mouth from her and moved up so that I was hovering over her and gazing into her eyes. If I had to go by the look on her face and the love I saw in her eyes, I wouldn't need to wait for an answer. But now knowing her past, I needed her to say it. "Bella, if you wanna stop we have to do it now."

"No, I don't want to stop," she whispered. Reaching up she held my face in her tiny hands. "I've wasted so much time hiding from you. Hiding from my feelings for you. I don't want to hide anymore and I don't want to wait any more for us to be together." She rose up and kissed me and when she pulled away she whispered, "Make love to me Edward; I want to be yours in every way."

"You already are, Sweetness. Making love is just the icing on the cake."

She lowered her hands to the waist band of my shorts and began to push them down. Once she couldn't get them down any further, I rose up on my knees and took them off the rest of the way while she pulled her arms out of the shirt she was still half wearing. We both tossed the articles of clothing off the bed not caring where they landed.

Crawling up the side of the bed I pulled open the night stand drawer to get a condom. As I tore open the package she reached her hand out and said, "Let me."

I hissed and sucked in my breath, thinking I was going to lose it right then when she wrapped her hand around me. I gave her the package and turned off the bedside lamp.

"Damn," I groaned as she stroked me a few times before rolling the condom down my length.

I slid my hand between her legs, pressing against her core to make sure she was ready for me. Bella moaned as I slipped two fingers inside her. When she started to rock in time with my movements I was certain she was ready.

I moved to reposition myself over her. Gazing down at her I whispered, "You're so beautiful, Bella, I love you, so much." Her body was silky and smooth pressed against mine and I wanted to keep her there forever.

"Show me, "she replied in a soft voice as her arms came up to circle around my shoulders and pull me down to her.

Gliding along her entrance a few times, I slowly entered her.

"I love you too," she whispered.

She adjusted her hips and I slid deeper inside her and moved at a slightly faster pace. Back and forth, push and pull, we moved together. I kissed her hungrily, not being able to get enough of her. Gripping her thighs I pulled her legs up higher over my hips.

"Oh, Edward, don't stop," she cried.

I could feel her begin to tremble as she arched up into me. "Oh, Sweetness, I've dreamt of this moment for days. Waiting for you to say you loved me, waiting for you to say you were still mine."

"I'm yours, Edward. I've been yours since the night I saw you on the beach."

"Mine," I rasped into her ear as we both were ready to come undone.

"Yours," she moaned loudly.

As her legs gripped me tighter, she shuddered as her climax surged through her. The feeling of her coming undone around me sent me over the edge and it was like nothing I had ever felt before. Even better than the last time I had made love to her on Capri. I wasn't sure what the difference was. Maybe it was the fact that there were no more secrets between us, nothing looming over us to pull us apart. Or maybe it was the fact that we had both finally admitted our true feelings to each other and allowed us to completely give ourselves to one another. I didn't know what, but what I did know for certain was I'd never let her go again.

_**July 10, 2010**_

Making love once hadn't been enough so after not getting much sleep thru the night, Bella and I had mixed feelings when we woke up to find it raining. While we were disappointed that we'd have to cancel the bar-b-que we'd planned, we were more than happy for the extra time to linger in bed and actually sleep.

Once we had dragged ourselves out of bed and had poured some coffee into us, we called everyone and rearranged our plans for the day. After deciding to meet up for a late lunch and then head to the mall, Bella and I showered and got dressed.

She looked just as amazing dressed in the casual clothes she wore on the weekend as she did when dressed professionally for work during the week. Today she simply had on a pair of jeans and a couple of layered tank tops with a lightweight jacket thrown over it and she exuded an air of sexiness that she was completely oblivious too.

Walking up behind her, I snaked my arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. "You're really looking forward to this afternoon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I really miss spending time with Rose," she replied as she turned in my arms and wrapped hers around me.

"I wish I could tell you that this would all be over soon and you'd have your life back."

"It's not your fault. It's just one of the perks of the job."

I backed up a bit and lifted her chin so she was looking at me. "No, Bella, it's not. You didn't sign up for shit like this when you went to work for the bureau."

"No I suppose I didn't. But we aren't supposed to be thinking about that shit right now so let's not ruin our day."

"As you wish, Sweetness," I whispered and leaned down to kiss her.

Once Bella was ready to go, we made the short drive to Westlake Center. We met up with, Emmett, Rose, Jasper and Alice at Dilettante Mocha Café. The six of us chatted about the crappy weather and how we had to cancel our plans to bar-b-que because of it while we ate lunch. We all agreed that we would do it some other time. When we had finished eating, even though we both claimed to be full from our lunch, we seemed to find enough room to share a dessert loaded with chocolate. At one point I thought I was going to die when Bella licked the molten dessert off her spoon while letting out a soft moan that shot straight to my pants.

After paying for our meals, we headed out into the mall. The better part of the afternoon was spent with us guys following the women around to the stores they chose to stop in. While they would ask our opinions every now and then, they refused to allow us to see the dresses they had chosen. A good time was had by all of us. Rose seemed like a great person and Alice seemed to fit right in with the two of them, like they'd always been friends. Emmett and I caught up a bit more on what we'd done the past few years while Jasper asked Emmett for advice on being married. I might have listened in a little myself. Bella and I might not be ready for that step yet, but Jasper had been pretty successful at keeping my sister happy for quite a while now. So he obviously must have some idea on how to maintain a happy relationship.

One of the funnier moments of the conversation came when Emmett told Jasper it was really all quite simple. All he had to do was let Alice think she wore the pants in their relationship. I couldn't help laughing and adding, "He doesn't have to pretend, Alice does wear the pants in their relationship."

Judging by the look Rose shot Emmett when she heard his remark, I think she was a bit more in charge then he was willing to admit. I didn't know what the future held for Bella and me, but I knew I wanted her in it and now that we'd worked through our issues, I hoped that we'd be able to continue to do so in the future.

The rest of the weekend went by with Bella and I relaxing and relishing in our new closeness and each other's bodies too. On the way back to her place Sunday night, Bella suggested we make it a weekly thing to spend the weekends at my loft, saying it gave us a bit of the best of both worlds. I was all for it.

_**July 22, 2010**_

**~*BPOV*~**

The time between our first weekend at Edward's loft and the weekend of the wedding had flown by. I knew I should be sleeping, but I just couldn't seem to shut my brain down and fall asleep. Edward had fallen asleep almost instantly. As soon as he molded his body to mine and I was tucked snuggly in his arms he was out. Unfortunately sleep didn't come as easy for me. Everything from our trip, weddings, work and my feelings for Edward were racing through my mind. I just felt like I was teetering on two different edges of the emotional spectrum.

Emmett and I had spent the past two weeks continuing to search for our accomplice and we also still felt like we were missing something that was right under our noses. We had brought Seth up to speed on everything in case anything came up while we were gone. Even though Seth had been cleared before I had even returned to the states, he had been busy overseeing the other cases our office was investigating while Emmett was tied up with the mess surrounding Reynolds and myself.

Even with our inability to discover who the accomplice was at this time, we had narrowed the list of potential suspects in our office. We had managed to clear two more of the agents, Tyler and Sam, which left Jessica and Jake as our main focus. This was weighing heavily on Seth, considering the fact that Jake was his cousin. He was already feeling guilty enough because of the harassment that Jake had caused me. However the thought that his own family member could be not only responsible for being an accomplice to a known murderer, but to also betray him and his country didn't sit well with Seth at all. He promised me that if it was indeed Jake that he would do what it took to make sure he was brought down just like any other criminal would be. There'd be no leniency because he was related to him. And the fact of the matter was, even though they were cousins, they had grown up in separate parts of the state and really didn't know each other that well outside of their working relationship. The fact that they worked in the same office was a mere coincidence.

In the morning, we'd be leaving early to drive to Vancouver. The rehearsal dinner was tomorrow evening, the wedding on Saturday, followed by a late morning brunch on Sunday before Jasper and Alice left for their honeymoon in Hawaii. Despite how close it was, I'd never been to Vancouver and was excited about the trip.

My personal life had never been better. I was so in love with Edward and I had never been happier with that aspect of my life. I kept waiting for my emotions for him to level off but they just kept growing. And then there was our sex life. It was… for lack of a better word, amazing. We hadn't been able to keep our hands off each other since that first night at his loft. This evening, we hadn't been in the front door fifteen minutes and were already making out hot and heavy like a couple of hormone crazed high school kids. By the time we managed to break away from each other, it was getting late and we knew that we still needed to have dinner and finish packing. Our procrastination hadn't left time for anything more than a light dinner and packing. But instead of resting, I was lying here wide awake.

At the other end of my spectrum was the upheaval in my life caused by Reynolds and the lack of progress pinpointing who his accomplice was. And it wasn't that I was afraid he could hurt me. He was locked in that prison and in a couple more weeks would be transferred to San Quentin. I was just tired of feeling as though my life wasn't completely mine. Little things like driving myself places, going out to lunch at the last minute if Rose called, shopping on my lunch hour if I chose. When you don't get to do them the little things mean a lot in your life. I loved being with Edward all the time. I never felt smothered like I feared I might from him living with me. We had learned to give each other space when we needed it. In fact if the accomplice was found tomorrow, I didn't know how I would adjust to not being with him all the time any more. It would be painfully more difficult than adjusting to him being here had been. It just felt as if all the spontaneity was gone and I hated how this was affecting other people's lives, not just mine. Edward missed his loft, Nana should be able to go back to Capri, and Emmett and Rose shouldn't have to tag along with Edward and I this weekend to be with me while Edward did something so simple as stand up for his best friend. I wanted my life to feel normal again.

I was suddenly feeling overtaken by all my emotions and had tears rolling down my face. I didn't want to wake Edward, but as I tried to slip out of bed unnoticed, he woke up.

"Where you going, Sweetness," he mumbled in his sleepy state.

"Um… to the bathroom," I said trying but failing to control the shakiness of my voice.

He leaned up on one arm and pulled me back to him. "Hey what's wrong? Are you crying?"

Right then knowing I couldn't hide it from him, I held on to him and just let it all out. I cried hard for who knows how long, but once I was done and I had explained to him how I was feeling, it eased a lot of the pent up emotions I'd been dealing with.

At some point during my crying spell, Edward had situated us so that he was sitting up against the headboard and I was on his lap. As he held me in his arms and ran his fingers through my hair to sooth me, he said, "I love you Sweetness, we'll figure this out. I promise."

"Love you too." I managed to choke out, knowing he was right.

Closing my eyes and taking comfort in him being there with me, I began to relax and finally feel tired. After that, I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remembered was waking up the next morning.

Although I didn't want to get up, I knew I couldn't lie around and procrastinate since we had to get on the road on time. Edward and I were driving to Emmett and Rose's house and then the four of us were going to ride together in Emmett's suburban. Due to the situation we were in, Emmett, Edward, and myself had our guns on us at all times, and it would be a huge hassle to try and get through airport security with them since we were not going to conduct official FBI business. After a quick breakfast of bagels and coffee, Edward went to shower while I got out what I was going to wear today. After placing the clothes on the bed, I went brush my teeth. I was just turning to walk away from the vanity when I felt a wet hand on my arm. Next thing I knew I was in the shower and pressed against the wet tile wall.

"What are you doing?" I breathed as his mouth left a trail of fire down my throat at the same time his hands were lifting the shirt I'd slept in.

"Conserving water," he mumbled against my skin as he dropped my soaking wet shirt to the shower floor.

"Edward," I panted as he continued to attack me with his mouth. "We don't have… time for this. Have to…be at…Emme—."

"We'll make it. I have a fast car."

"Your car better not be the only thing that's fast."

"Mmm, I'll show you fast, Sweetness," was the last thing he said before crashing his lips to mine and lifting me up to wrap my legs around his waist.

Just as I had suspected we would, we made it to their house slightly late. Apparently it didn't matter though 'cause Rose wasn't ready to go when we got there. And judging by the smirk on Emmett's face and the blush on hers when he opened the door, they had been up to the same morning shenanigans as we had.

"Come on, let's let them have their guy moment," she said as she tugged on my hand, pulling me into the kitchen with her. We left Emmett and Edward in the living room talking about some big trade that happened in the world of baseball while I joined Rose in the kitchen so she could eat a quick breakfast. I sat at the table while she ate a container of yogurt.

"You look tired. Everything ok in general and with the two of you?" Rose asked as she dipped her spoon into the container for another bite.

"Yeah, just a lot on my mind, you know. And as for Edward and me, things are great." I said while a huge smile spread across my face as I remembered why it had taken us so long to get here this morning.

"Well, just because you have him now doesn't mean you can't still come to me if you need someone to talk to."

"I know. Nothing's really wrong, just struggling to balance the good with the bad. It gets hard sometimes and I feel so overly emotional right now."

"Well you have a lot going on. Plus didn't you say last week that you were going to get on birth control?" she asked. I had confided in her that Edward and I were talking about other methods and had asked her for some advice and what she used.

Edward and I had discussed whether or not to keep using condoms or to check into other options. He had admitted that he wasn't crazy about using the condoms, how he didn't want anything between the two of us and I agreed with him. Being that the most effective other options for us entailed me being put on something, I had made an appointment with my doctor. After discussing my options with her and then with Edward, I had decided to go with the shot instead of pills so I wouldn't have to worry about forgetting to take them.

"Yeah I got the shot earlier this week. Why?"

"Silly girl. That's probably part of why you're so bent out of shape. Your hormones are out of whack. I'm sure as soon as they level off and your body adjusts you'll be just fine," she said, getting up to toss the empty yogurt container in the trash.

"Shit. Why didn't I think of that," I said laughing.

She came over and gave me a hug and said, "Everything will be just fine. Emmett says it might take some time, but this will all be resolved." I tried to take comfort in her words, but I knew she only had a generalized version of what was going on and had no idea the seriousness of the whole thing. So I simply nodded, knowing that it had to come to an end sooner or later. I just hoped that it was sooner.

The three hour drive to Vancouver had been quite nice. We were all staying at the Wedgewood Hotel and Spa, where the wedding would be held. Edward had told me that his sister surprised him when she had opted for a smaller venue and had invited only their closest family and a few of her friends; he said that given how she usually went way overboard with any party or event she planned, he had expected a wedding fit for royalty.

Alice may have a cut back on her guest list, but she certainly didn't cut back on style or cost. The hotel was absolutely gorgeous and very luxurious. I hadn't ever wanted for anything growing up; we weren't rich but we were comfortable. But this hotel far surpassed any place I had even been. The richly upholstered furniture, warm, dark woods and ornate light fixtures actually had an Italian feel to it. It made me think of Nana.

All checked in we headed up to our rooms. Emmett and Rose's suite was just at the other end of the hall from ours. Edward called Alice to let her know that we had arrived and she reminded us to be on time for the rehearsal dinner.

Having the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon to ourselves, the four of us headed out to explore downtown Vancouver. After walking around for a bit we decided to head over to Stanley Park and take a horse drawn tour.

As we rode through the park I was taken in by the beauty of it all. Vancouver harbor, Lions Gate Bridge, and the stunning Rose Garden were just a few of the sights we saw along the tour. The trolley stopped to allow us all time to walk through the rose garden. I had never seen so many different colors or varieties of roses in all my life. They were gorgeous.

"What are you thinking about?" Edward asked as he watched me lean over and smell a pink rose that was at the end of a particularly long stem of its bush.

"Mmm, how beautiful they all are and the roses that you sent me," I answered as I turned to face him when I was done admiring the rose and taking in its sweet fragrant scent. "You know I never did get around to looking up the meaning of the ones that you sent me."

"You didn't?"

"Nope. I meant to, but then everything happened so fast and we were on our way back to Seattle and well…after that, it was sort of forgotten." I looked up at him to see his reaction, hoping that my admission didn't hurt his feelings.

"Hmm, well let's see," he said taking my hand and pulling me closer to him and wrapping his arm around my shoulders as we continued to stroll through the garden. "You obviously know what the red ones meant, right?"

"Yes," I said with a huge smile on my face.

"Ok, so that leaves the lavender and orange ones. The lavender meant enchantment and love at first sight and I think if I remember correctly the orange had to do with desire or passion. Something along those lines."

"What about the pink flowers, um, the Dahlias?"

"Those are used as a symbol for I can't stop thinking about you."

I shook my head as I processed the meaning behind the flowers.

"What?" he asked. "Do you not believe me?" He stopped and gazed down at me. He had sunglasses on so I couldn't see his eyes, but the crease between his brows told me he was worried that I doubted his explanations.

"It's not that. I do believe you. It's just… you seemed so aware, so sure of your feelings for me right away. There was no hesitation on your part. You never once doubted or questioned them no matter how fast it happened," I explained.

"Hey," he said. He stopped and stood in front of me, raising both our sunglasses and staring at me with his sparkling green eyes. They were so full of love and sincerity. "Make no mistake, I was completely bewitched by you from the moment I saw you on the beach the night we met."

"I'm sorry. I don't mean for it to sound as if I didn't believe you or that I doubt your feelings for me. Because I don't."

He bent over and kissed me. It was a sweet soft, loving kiss and then said, "It's ok. I understand now why it was so hard for you to trust in your feelings for me. You've had so much to have to deal with in such a short time. I'm happy that we are together now and that you don't have any more doubts. No more looking back. We only go forward now. Ok?"

"Ok," I sighed and leaned into him, taking comfort in his embrace as he encased me in his arms.

We started to walk back to the trolley. It was getting close to time to head back to the hotel and get ready for the rehearsal dinner.

Just before we reached it Edward stopped me and said, "There's one more thing I wanted to tell you and then no more mention of it the rest of the weekend, promise?"

I wasn't exactly sure what he was talking about, but trusted him and simply nodded.

"I know this has all been a lot for you and it might seem as though the situation is never going to end. But one very important thing I learned in the army is that, sometimes you have to sit back and wait for your enemy to make a mistake. It might take some time and God knows lots of patience. But eventually, either Reynolds or his sidekick will make a mistake. And when they do we'll nail them. You will get your life back, Bella. I can't tell you exactly when, but it will happen."

I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him. "You always know just what to say," I said, smiling at him.

"It's just 'cause I love you."

"I love you too."

The rest of our ride through the park turned out to be picture perfect. Actually the whole afternoon was; the weather, the company, all of it combing to make it perfect. It was easy to get lost in our visit and forget about all the thoughts that had been plaguing me the night before.

It felt as thought we'd barely gotten back to the hotel and already was time to head down to the garden area where the rehearsal was to take place. I had just finished putting my hair up in a twist and only needed to slip into my dress, put my shoes on and I would be ready to go.

As I walked out of the bathroom, I found Edward standing in front of the mirror fixing his tie.

"Need some help with that?" I asked, admiring how good he looked in his grey suit. I hadn't seen him so dressed up since our first date back in Italy and it was hard to take my eyes off of him.

"Sure."

"Ok, but you have to help me too," I said as I slipped my dress on and turned my back to him.

"You want me to help you back out of this already?" he teased, while sliding the strap of the dress off my shoulder.

"While I would love to let you do that, we're gonna have to settle for you zipping me up for the time being."

"Are you sure?" he asked pressing a kiss to the same shoulder he had just bared.

"Your insatiable, Edward."

"And that's a problem because?"

"Because your sister and your parents would never forgive you if you were late because you were fooling around with me."

"Hmm, I suppose you're right." He leaned in and stole a quick kiss and then flashed me his sexy, but mischievous smile.

"You know I am." I giggled and smacked him playfully on his chest.

After I was zipped and his tie was straight, we met Emmett and Rose in the hallway and went down together.

Stepping outside behind the hotel, we walked across the courtyard to the garden area that was already partially set up for the wedding tomorrow. The chairs and small platform were already in place, but there were no decorations adorning them yet.

I looked around and saw many people that I didn't know. Alice, Jasper, and Edward's parents were the only ones I recognized. Alice and Jasper were across the way talking to two couples. One of them was a gorgeous redhead and I wondered if she was Chelsea. Edward and I started to walk over in their direction. We had almost reached them when the wedding coordinator came out and asked for the wedding party to follow her.

Alice, Jasper, and the couples they were talking to were walking past us when Edward planted a kiss on me and said he loved me and would see me in just a bit. I told him I loved him too and after a peck on my lips he headed over to where Alice and the others now were. I noticed that one of the men that had been with them was now sitting in the chairs. Emmett, Rose, and I found three empty seats and sat down to watch the rehearsal.

As the music began, Rose leaned over and whispered to me, "Who was the redhead that damn near gave herself whiplash when Edward kissed you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked since I hadn't seen who she was talking about. I had obviously been paying attention to Edward.

"The pretty redhead who was with Alice. Her head snapped faster than a slingshot when Edward told you he loved you."

"Do you see her now?" We both began looking around. I wanted to see if maybe the wedding party was lined up and I could determine if it was.

However they must have gone inside the hotel for a minute because none of them were anywhere to be seen.

"I don't know. She could be Edward's ex," I told Rose when we didn't find them. "I guess we'll see in a minute," I whispered when the music changed and the ring bearer and flower girl walked down the aisle. The next couple was really cute. The girl looked to be a little younger than me. She had dark, medium length hair that hung in layers just past her shoulders and was being escorted by a tall dark haired guy who was very handsome. He didn't have anything on Edward, but he was good looking.

We watched as the next couple walked past us and stepped up on the platform. It was Edward and none other than the redhead I'd seen with his sister before the rehearsal began. I was distracted by Edward winking at me from his spot next to Jasper when Rose nudged me and said, "That's her," as she looked towards the petite redhead standing next to the dark haired girl who had gone before her.

"That's his ex. Chelsea," I told her. I only knew this for sure since I was aware of the fact that she'd be walking down the aisle with Edward.

"You're shitting me," she whisper yelled.

"Shhh," I said while trying not to giggle as the music changed and the wedding march began, signaling that Alice was about to begin her walk.

I quietly explained to Rose how Alice and Chelsea were best friends and what I knew about Edward and Chelsea's relationship and breakup. She didn't say much other than it must be incredibly awkward for him to have to walk down the aisle with his ex.

They went through the wedding procession twice and then we were all asked to join the soon to be married couple and their parents in the banquet room for dinner. Edward shook Jasper's hand and gave his sister a kiss on the cheek before he came over to where I was standing with Emmett and Rose.

The four of us went inside and enjoyed an amazing meal. Afterwards, Edward was re-introducing Emmett to his parents when Alice came over and declared she was stealing me for a minute. Edward gave his sister a look as if to say "no" but her pout was all it took for him to release my hand—but not before telling her to stay close by. Alice rolled her eyes at her brother, but nodded that she'd listen to his request.

Even though I knew that Alice was trying to make me feel as though I was being included, I was ready to go back to Edward. I felt like I was a new toy being put on display as she led me around and introduced me to nearly everyone in the room. I met Grandma Elizabeth, Grandpa Anthony, aunts and uncles, and a few family friends. Next I was introduced to the first couple who had walked down the aisle and I learned it was Alice and Edward's cousin Megan and Jasper's friend Peter. Megan was even prettier up close than she was when I'd seen her during the rehearsal and she had the same green eyes as Edward and Alice.

As Alice and I left them to head back over to where Edward was chatting with Emmett, Jasper, and Rose, Alice told me that she thought Megan was crushing on Peter. She said they'd been flirting with each other since they'd been introduced to one another this morning.

The whole time I'd been getting paraded around by Alice, I had the feeling I was being watched. A couple of times I had looked over at Edward to see if it was him. At one point he was, but I still couldn't shake the feeling that it wasn't Edward's eyes that were following me. I felt better once I was back with Edward, but the feeling didn't go away.

We spent a little while longer chatting with Edward's parents, who both gave me huge hugs when they saw me. Once I'd yawned a few times, Edward excused us and said we were going to turn in for the night.

However, we were delayed as Chelsea and a man whom I assumed was her husband approached us.

"Oh Edward, there you are. I've been looking all over for you. You need to meet my husband." She had a smug look on her face, like she just offered us the chance to meet George Clooney or Brad Pitt.

"Chelsea," Edward stated, rather coldly. "We were just leaving."

"Oh, please this will only take a minute," she insisted. The arrogance rolling off of this woman was astounding. Not only that, she was putting on a show, like this was some sort of competition she was engaged in. How one person could be so stuck on herself, and still have somehow managed to catch Edward's attention for however long it was they were together, was beyond me.

"Fine," Edward replied.

"Brad, darling, this is Edward Cullen, Alice's brother and Jasper's best man. Edward, this is Dr. Brad Conner, my husband."

"Brad, it's good to meet you," Edward said, trying to remain polite as he shook the other man's hand.

"So what have you been up to, Edward? We were just talking to your parents about how we are in the process of moving to Chicago. Brad graduated top of his class from John Hopkins and one of the doctors he did his residency with transferred to Northwestern. Isn't Northwestern where your dad went to school? Anyways, Brad was offered a position at the hospital. Oh, and you should see the house we bought. I mean really, it's the most magnificent thing I have ever seen. Your mother is going to fly out and decorate it for us once we are all settled. Oh geez, I'm sorry. I was rambling wasn't I? What did you say you were doing now?"

What a bitch is the mantra I kept repeating in my head as this…woman, kept flaunting her life in front of Edward as if he was supposed to give two shits about it.

"I didn't. But I would like to introduce you to someone very special to me." Edward slipped his arm around my waist pulling me closer to him. Gazing down at me, his face full of love and adoration, he said, "Chelsea, Brad, I'd like you to meet the love of my life, Bella Swan. Sweetness, this is Chelsea and her husband Brad. She is Alice's best friend and matron of honor."

"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you both," I said, extending my hand to the both of them. I was certain the smile on my face was bright enough to light the whole state of Georgia during a blackout. Chelsea stood there speechless. I think she was trying to figure out how to pick her jaw up off the floor. She was not at all what I had expected. Not at all like the person Alice had described her to be. More importantly, not at all like me.

**Can't wait to hear what you think of their weekend together and Chelsea. Don't forget, there are links to the Polyvore collection for this story on my profile page as well as on my blog. I have also posted on the blog pictures of Stanley Park and the things they saw while there and as well as a picture of Chelsea. You can sign up for email alerts to come straight to you whenever I make a new post on the blog. It you have signed up and have not started receiving the alerts, make sure that you have done the email verification process. I noticed the other day that some of you who have signed up are still unverified. As always the teaser for the next chapter will be posted on the blog on Monday. **

**Thanks for reading, **

**EA~**


	18. Lady in Red

**Hello once again. I know this is a little later than usual, but I hope it finds you all well. Speaking of this being a little late, I wanted to take a minute and let you all know that until the holidays are over, updates might be a little less frequent. I am going to keep writing whenever I have time and will post as often as I can, but with all the extra holiday activities to do right now, I don't want to rush when I write and give you guys a crappy chapter to read. **

**There are pictures for this chapter on my blog. Link is on my profile page. Once again My Bella and Hope4more have helped me bring you the best chapter I can. They wave their magic wands and make everything pretty. Thanks guys, you rock! :)  
**

**Stepheine Meyer owns it all. **

_I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight,  
I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing,  
I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side,  
And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away,  
And I have never had such a feeling,  
Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight;_

_The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,  
There's nobody here, it's just you and me,  
It's where I want to be,  
But I hardly know this beauty by my side,  
I'll never forget the way you look tonight;_

_I never will forget the way you look tonight...  
The lady in red, the lady in red,  
The lady in red, my lady in red,  
I love you..._

_**Lady in Red by Chris De Burgh**_

_**July 24, 2010**_

**~*BPOV*~**

Beep, beep, beep. I rolled over and looked at the clock on the nightstand. It was only four thirty in the morning.

"Ugh," I groaned as I smacked the alarm clock, thinking it was malfunctioning and rolled back over, snuggling as close as I could to Edward's warm body.

Softly kissing the underside of his chin and inhaling his scent, I began to drift off again, but the beeping noise started back up. Sitting up and rubbing my eyes, I looked over to the nightstand to see if the clock was still making the annoying sound. More awake now than I had been before, I soon knew it wasn't the clock. I picked up my cell phone and there were no missed calls or messages. That left Edward's phone as the only option remaining as the device giving off the offending sound.

I tried to lean over him when I saw the light on his phone flashing as it beeped, but my leg got tangled in the blanket causing me to plop down on Edward like dead weight.

"Shit," I cursed when I heard him groan in his sleep. He moved around a little and I knew I had probably woken him up.

As I reached for his phone again, I felt Edward's arms snake around me. "Sweetness," he said in between yawns. "If you wanted to make love again, you didn't have to pummel me in my sleep."

"I wasn't trying to pummel you or make love to you again. But the idea does sound intriguing," I teased and ground my hips against him. "Your phone is beeping and it woke me up. I was just trying to get it without having to get out of bed."

"Hold that thought," he said as he slid me off of him and moved to grab his phone.

"Fuck," he muttered and jumped out of bed. "Stay here," he ordered as he quickly strode into the living room area of our suite, leaving me sitting in our bed slightly stunned and wondering what the hell was going on.

I could hear him on the phone talking to someone and then the sound of a few beeps as if he ended the first call and made a second one. He began talking to whoever it was he had called and it sounded as though they were having a disagreement.

A couple of minutes later he entered the bedroom again and ordered into the phone, "Call me as soon as you get there. Yes now. I don't give a shit what time it is. Do it now."

"What's going on?" I asked as he sat down on the bed and let out a frustrated sigh.

Edward scooted back and slumped against the headboard of the bed pinching the bridge of his nose. I could tell instantly by the look on his face something was up and he was concerned about it.

"The reason my phone was beeping is because I was getting an alert message, telling me the alarm at your house was down. There was a complete system failure."

"Complete system failure? How did that happen?" I asked from where I was sitting, still rooted in the same spot I'd been in when he left the room.

"For some reason the entire system went down and the only reason for that to happen is because of a power failure. Usually the only cause for a power failure would be a localized blackout of some sort, or if someone had tampered with the system, cut the wires, that sort of thing. Mike has already assured me there were no power outages in the area."

"So what do we do now? Wait? We aren't there and your sister's wedding is tonight."

"Mike is on his way there now to check things out. I told him if there is any sign of anyone trying to get into your house or tampering with the alarm system to call the police immediately. The loss of power just doesn't make sense unless—" Edward stopped himself as if he didn't want to say what he was thinking out loud. But I already had ideas of my own about what could cause issues with the alarm without him voicing his. Instead Edward said, "Let's just wait for Mike to call and go from there."

"Edward this is my home. What if someone has been in it? How am I supposed to just sit here knowing that someone, probably Reynolds' lackey has been in my home? My place of sanctuary where I am supposed to be safe."

"Look, we don't know for sure if anyone is there. If that turns out to be the case, we'll figure something out. Maybe Emmett and Rose can go check it out or we'll leave as soon as the wedding is over and skip the reception. I don't know. And I get that it's been your safe haven and it is full of your things. But, Bella, the most important thing is that if someone did break in to the house, you _weren't_ there. You _are_ safe. But let's not worry until we know there is something to worry about. Ok?"

"Ok. And Mike is on his way there now?"

"Yeah, he should be there in just a few more minutes. He doesn't live far from you. In the mean time, why don't you let me give you something a lot more pleasant to think about? How about we work on that intriguing idea you had?" he said as he grabbed me and pulled me down on top him. Unfortunately, we were thwarted by his phone ringing just as Edward was kissing his way down my body. He mumbled something about awful timing and kissed my hip as he pulled himself up to crawl over me and answer the call.

It was Mike calling to inform Edward that everything was fine at the house and that the system must have malfunctioned for some reason. He said the doors were locked, windows shut and the alarm didn't show any signs of having been tampered with. Edward didn't like it, but Mike had assured him all was well and there was nothing to worry about. He said the porch light was on as well, which meant the house had power, which indicated further that something had malfunctioned with the system. So reluctantly Edward took his word for it, and said we'd check with the local power company to see if they had a small outage on record. If the house was locked up with no signs of anyone trying to get in he didn't have much choice. However after hanging up from his call with Mike, Edward said he wouldn't be completely relieved until he checked the system out himself. He also told me it wasn't impossible for the system to fail due to malfunction, but it was highly unlikely. But since we weren't there and not in a position to do anything about it right now, he didn't want to dwell on it and ruin the rest of our weekend.

Relieved that it appeared no one had gotten into my house and that it was a malfunction of the alarm, I was ready to roll over and go back to sleep, but Edward had other ideas. "Now where were we?" he growled as he rolled over, pinning me beneath him. After that, he more than made up for the earlier interruption.

Edward and I had fallen back to sleep for a few hours after our early morning escapades. After getting up and dressed, we had breakfast with Edward and his family. Jasper had left and was spending the day with his family since he and Alice were not going to see each other until she walked down the aisle to him. Rose and Emmett were off sightseeing on their own.

Alice, Esme and I had been in the middle of a discussion about Edward's loft. Esme was explaining some ideas she had for decorating the rooftop patio, stating she had wanted to do so when he first moved in, but Edward had not let her due to the fact he was the only one ever up there. She explained what she wanted to do and how she was now hoping since he had me to share it with he'd let her redo the area. Out of nowhere, Chelsea showed up and inserted herself into the conversation. Esme did not take too kindly to Chelsea butting in with how she'd decorate it. In fact I felt strong emotions coming from Esme indicating she wasn't that fond of Chelsea, which struck me as a bit odd given how close Alice and Chelsea were supposed to be. But even Alice seemed a little perturbed by her friend's rude behavior. Esme wasted no time in getting her back. Unaware of the fact that I'd met Chelsea last night, Esme introduced me to her again. She went on, gushing about me and the fact that I was Edward's girlfriend, and how happy Edward had been since meeting me. Interestingly enough Esme didn't acknowledge her as Edward's ex either. I got the distinct feeling Chelsea wasn't as endeared to this family as she thought she was. It didn't take long for Chelsea to excuse herself and leave after that.

The rest of the day was a lazy one. Once Emmett and Rose had come back, the two of them and Edward and I relaxed by the hotel pool for a couple of hours until it was time to get ready for the wedding. We then parted ways and headed to our rooms.

With just a short time to go until Edward needed to go be with Jasper, I was standing in front of the mirror, checking my hair to make sure I hadn't missed any spots when curling it for the wedding. I had worn my hair up for the rehearsal yesterday, and Edward had asked me to leave it down tonight. He had said that while having my bare neck exposed to him all night was rather enjoyable, he had missed being able to reach over and run his fingers through it whenever he wanted. So in order to fulfill his request, I had spent the better part of the last two hours wrapping my thick mane around a curling iron, making sure not one piece was left straight.

I jumped slightly when I was startled by the vision of a Greek God wearing a tux, standing behind me. Suddenly feeling his hands resting on my hips, and his body pressed against mine, caused goose bumps to cover my skin. I couldn't take my eyes off of him as I looked at his reflection in the mirror. Edward was sexy, like make your heart stop beating sexy.

Moving my hair out of the way, he began placing several small kisses from the edge of my bare shoulder all along my neck, to the sensitive spot just behind my ear.

After nibbling on what had become his favorite spot long enough to leave me panting and weak in the knees, Edward brushed his lips against my ear and whispered in a low husky tone that gave me chills, "Sweetness, you're going to drive me insane in this dress all night." When shopping a couple of weeks ago, Alice had reminded me that red was one of Edward's favorite color's, which didn't surprise me given the color of his car. So when I saw this dress I knew it was the one.

The dress was red and cocktail length, with an asymmetrical neckline accented on one side by a sparkling silver rhinestone pin. The bodice of the dress was slightly ruched with a draped back to give it a sexy but still elegant look. I had been excited to see his reaction to the dress and it was even better than I could have hoped for. To add just a little more sparkle to my ensemble, I opted for a pair of two inch heels that were held on by a simple single strap of rhinestones across the top and around the ankle. Then to top it all off I chose the diamond stud earrings my parents had given me when I graduated college. The earrings, shoes and pin on my dress added just enough flash to my outfit without it being over the top or too much.

Gathering my hair and lifting it out of his way, he then proceeded to move across the back of my neck, kissing his way to the other side and nibbling behind that ear as well, not caring, maybe even enjoying the fact that I was about to collapse into a puddle of molten goo on the floor.

Somehow, I found the strength to turn around and face him. "Does that mean you like what you see?" I teased, while running my hands underneath his tux jacket until they were wrapped around him and tucked into the waistband of his pants. _Yes two can play this game, Mr. Sex On Legs Cullen._

"Like? Sweetness, like in no way begins to describe how fucking hot you look in this dress and how much I love seeing you in it."

"Hmm, well if I do say so myself, you look pretty damn hot in this tux."

Edward leaned down and kissed me passionately. Unable to resist him, I returned the kiss with as much gusto as he was giving, not caring one bit I would have to fix my makeup. I could kiss this man all day long and never tire of it. It may have only been a couple of weeks since we'd been together again intimately, but our bodies responded to each other as if it had been years. We reacted to one another with an amazing ability to be able to anticipate exactly what the other was feeling and what they wanted. And right now even if that unspoken connection between us didn't exist, I could feel his body's reaction to our impromptu make out session. It left no room for error about what he wanted.

We kissed until we had to break for air. Still slightly panting and trying to catch his breath, Edward rested his forehead against mine and murmured, "But, Sweetness, the real question is…am I the hottest man you've ever seen?"

Gazing into his eyes, I saw the corners of his lips twitching with a smug smile threatening to erupt. I found it hard to believe that he would even doubt his physical attraction to me or any other woman for one second, but since he seemed to need some sort of reassurance I was more than happy to give it to him.

I pressed my lips to his and kissed him with the same fervor he had just kissed me with. When we broke apart this time, I said to him, "Make no mistake, Edward Cullen, you are by far the hottest … sexiest … most devastatingly handsome man I have ever seen in my entire life …" Each pause in my declaration was filled by a kiss almost as hot as the man I was complimenting. "And that's with or without the tux," I added, just barely keeping myself from kissing him again.

"Is that so," he murmured, his lips skimming over my neck with just enough pressure to further ignite the flame that was already burning inside me.

"Yes," I said through bated breathes. His lips on my skin were driving me wild and sending sparks of electricity shooting all the way to my toes.

He started to get carried away and the last thing I needed was a love bite on my neck where there hadn't been one last night. Not that it was anyone's business what Edward and I did behind closed doors, but it didn't need to be broadcast and it would appear highly tacky given the fact we were about to attend his sister's wedding.

"Edward?"

"Mmm hmm," he responded, with his lips continuing their assault on me.

"Isn't it about time for you to go be with Jasper? You are the best man you know."

He pulled away and glanced at his watch. "Shit. You're right. I guess I got a bit distracted," he said flashing me his signature crooked smile. "But first I have one more thing to do."

"Really? What's that?" I asked as I turned around and touched up my lip gloss.

"Close your eyes," he requested.

"What?"

"Indulge me for a minute, Sweetness. Close your eyes."

He was up to something. I could see a mischievous sparkle in his eyes as I studied his reflection in the mirror. But trusting him completely I closed my eyes.

I stood there waiting as I heard him moving around. I felt him lean forward against me and then heard the sound of something being placed on the vanity in front of me.

His hands were then sweeping my hair to the side again. I felt a quick soft kiss to the side of my neck and then something cold, small and hard touch my chest and what felt like a cold string slinking around my neck.

I started to open my eyes for a peek at what he was doing, but he caught me and scolded me playfully. "Not yet, Sweetness. Keep them closed for just another minute," he said. It felt as though he were fastening something at the back of my neck.

I went to raise my hand and touch whatever it was and he scolded me again saying, "Nuh unh." I smiled and tried not to fidget while waiting for him to give me permission to open my eyes.

"You can open them now," he whispered against my hair.

Snapping them open quickly I was speechless when I saw a pendant of three brilliant sparkling diamonds, each one slightly bigger than the first, hanging around my neck.

Finally finding my voice, I managed to whisper, "It's beautiful," as I fought back the tears threatening to make an even bigger mess of my makeup than making out with Edward had.

"It is, but it pales in comparison to the woman wearing it."

"Why? When? How?" was all I could stutter out as I tried to figure out when he would have taken the time to go shopping for the necklace?

He chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around me, holding my gaze to his in the mirror as he spoke. "The other day when I had to work late. It didn't take us as long as I thought it would to finish up. I'd been thinking about getting you something, and on my way to pick you up, I passed the jewelry store. I went in with the intention of just looking to get an idea of what I might like to get you." He paused and turned me around to face him. "But when I saw this necklace and the sales rep explained to me the meaning behind the three stones, I knew this was what I wanted. That it was perfect."

"And what was it he told you that made it so perfect?" I asked shakily while trying to swallow the lump in my throat. I could already tell I was going to have to completely redo my makeup. I could feel the tears swelling and ready to spill over any time. But it was so worth it. The emotions this wonderful man evoked in me were like nothing I had ever experienced before; completely and totally all consuming and wonderful.

Edward's piercing gaze held me captive as he cupped my face and looked into my eyes. It was like he was staring right into my heart. His facial expression was serious, but not hard, or forced. It was full of love and emotion while being sincere at the same time. I could see how special this moment was to him.

He softly cleared his throat as he began to speak, "You see, the sales rep said the necklace represents a relationship's history. A journey of love, represented by the three stones, one each for the past, the present and the future."

"That's…it's beautiful. Thank you," I whispered while the tears finally began to racing down my cheek.

"I—" he hesitated, and then started back up. "I just want you to know how much you mean to me, Bella. How much I love you. I know we got off to a rocky start. If you look at the necklace you will see the first stone is the smallest. That represents our past. So while rocky, it is in our past now and we are moving forward. The next stone is our present. And I am thrilled to be with you now, completely with no more obstacles or secrets between us. I love our present. But, Bella, what I really look forward to is our future. And that's the biggest stone on the pendant and I think it's my favorite because when I think about the future, the only one I see is ours. My future is with you."

I was practically sobbing by this point. I wasn't sure how I got so lucky to find this man, but he was mine and I had been a fool to ever doubt him. I would never do that again. I rose up on my toes and wrapped my arms as tightly as I could around him. I held onto him for a few minutes as I regained enough control over my emotions.

As I slid back down the front of him, he handed me a tissue off the vanity. "Hey," he said softly as he lifted my chin. "You ok? I didn't mean to make you cry."

"Happy tears. I promise they are all happy tears," I sniffled. After wiping my nose with the tissue, I reached up to touch the pendant and said, "I love this necklace, I love its meaning and most of all I love the amazing man who gave it to me. Oh and Edward, I want the same thing you do. I want a future with you too. Thank you for loving me enough to wait for me."

"It was worth every minute of the wait, Sweetness," he assured me. He suddenly scooped me up in his arms, spinning me around and kissing me until he bumped into the wall. We both laughed at him getting so carried away and after a few more sweet kisses he set me down so I could fix my makeup.

About ten minutes later, I exited the bedroom finally ready to go and heard a loud knock at the door. Edward opened the door to find Jasper on the other side with a sly smile on his face.

"Hey, man, you forget we have a wedding to attend?" Jasper teased while entering the room and giving Edward a light punch on the arm. "I've heard of a runaway bride, but never a runaway best man."

"No, I think Bella is just about ready to go," Edward told his friend and soon to be brother-in-law.

I cleared my throat gaining both men's attention, and said, "I'm ready now." I smiled while toying with my necklace as I walked over to the two of them. I couldn't keep my fingers off of it.

"Ahh, you gave it to her," Jasper said to Edward, causing my smile to widen proudly.

"Yes I did," Edward confirmed as he put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head.

"It's beautiful, it suits you," Jasper commented to me and then said, "Now, I hate to be the one to separate you two love birds, but I believe we have ourselves a shindig to attend and I don't know about you, but I don't want to be late."

"I think you better get him downstairs and in place," I said to Edward with a snicker.

He agreed and the two of them walked me down to Emmett and Rose's suite to wait until it was time for the wedding to begin.

About an hour later, the three of us headed down to the garden area. The space looked drastically different than it had last night. But in a good way. It was now completely decorated for the wedding.

The plain chairs that we had sat in last night were now adorned with white covers and golden sashes tied around them with a small bouquet of flowers tucked into the sash on the back of the chairs. At the front of the garden were two large urns filled with white roses, one on each side of the platform where the happy couple would say their vows.

The platform itself had a large arbor that was covered in vines and white roses and there were twinkle lights everywhere to help illuminate the place.

Shortly after we took our seats the rest of the guests filled in until there wasn't an empty seat remaining. The music began to play and I when I looked up front I noticed Jasper was now standing on the platform with the minister.

The wedding party made their way down the aisle. The flower girl was wearing a long white mini ball gown type dress with a golden champagne colored sash around her waist that tied in a bow in the back. The bridesmaids were wearing a simple strapless, knee length dress in the same golden hue as the sash on the flower girls dress. Alice followed a few minutes later. She was a beautiful bride. Probably the prettiest I had ever seen. Her dress was a strapless princess cut gown with what I was pretty sure was a chapel length train. The bodice was adorned with crystal and pearl beading. It was simple, yet classic and elegant and Alice was gorgeous in it.

As Alice passed by us my gaze shifted to the front again. Once my eyes found Edward, everything else around us faded into the background. I couldn't take my eyes off of him and several times throughout the ceremony his gaze was fixated on me as well. In fact the only time he wasn't watching me was when he had to perform his duties as best man and hand Jasper the rings.

Once the vows were spoken and Jasper and Alice were pronounced husband and wife, they led the wedding party into the ballroom inside the hotel where the reception was being held.

The ballroom was decorated just as spectacularly as the garden area had been. However this time the chairs were covered in a golden damask fabric and tied in the back similar to the ones outside had been. There was a floral center piece on each table which was covered in a crisp white table cloth. The overhead lighting had been dimmed and was enhanced by the many wall sconces located around the room. The combination of the two gave the room a warm golden glow.

Being the gentleman he is, Edward escorted Chelsea to her husband and then was immediately making his way to me. My heart warmed at the sight of the excitement on his face as he approached me. He was instantly swooping in for a kiss as soon as he reached me.

"Mmm, I missed you, Sweetness," he murmured against my lips.

"I missed you too."

"You two are so sappy," Emmett teased when hearing us say we had missed each other, which prompted Rose to smack him and tell him he could be a little more sappy himself every now and then.

The four of us made our way to our seats. True to what Alice had told me a few weeks ago in Edward's office, I was able to sit with Edward. Emmett and Rose were at the table next to ours. Instead of a buffet type meal and the guests having to prepare their own plates, our dinner was served to us. The food was delicious and once the dishes had been taken away by the hotel staff, it was time for Edward to make his best man speech.

He gave the typical speech, wishing the happy couple much love and happiness and the big brother threat to his best friend that he better take care of his baby sister. There were then a couple of other toasts made by Edward and Alice's father as well as Jasper's, wishing the newly married couple all the happiness in the world. Esme also managed to get in a word about being ready for grandchildren.

Next came the first dance as husband and wife and I could tell Edward was not thrilled at all about having to dance for even a brief time with Chelsea when the rest of the wedding party was asked to join them on the dance floor.

Soon the dance floor filled and everyone appeared to be having a good time. Edward ditched Chelsea the instant he could and we were now talking with Emmett and Rose about their day of sightseeing. When they were finished telling us about all they had done, Edward excused himself and said he needed to use the restroom. When he seemed to be gone a bit longer than I expected, I noticed him talking to his grandparents. I got distracted from watching Edward when Alice made her way over to us.

"Please tell me my brother didn't go off and leave you sitting here," she said as she leaned over and gave me a hug.

After first congratulating her and telling her how beautiful a bride she was, I answered her question. "No he was just over talking to your grandparents," I told her as I pointed in the direction where I had last seen him, but he was no longer there. In his place were his and Alice's parents.

It was then that she noticed my necklace. "Oh your necklace is beautiful," she stated.

My face instantly lit up with a smile as I reached up and felt where it lay against my skin. "Thank you," I replied to her as my smile widened.

"Oh I know that look," she said. "Did my brother happen to be the one to give that to you?" she asked.

"Yes. Just earlier today actually," I told her.

"It's beautiful. I guess he finally learned how to pick out jewelry himself," she said. I was just about to ask her what she meant when Edward returned.

Edward sat down and apologized for being gone so long, stating that he was stopped several times to chat on his way to use the restroom.

"Good job on the bling," Alice said to him.

"Bling? What the heck are you talking about, Alice?"

"The little bobble that's hanging around Bella's neck. You did good."

"Not that I needed your approval, but thank you, little sister," he teased her.

Alice was soon swept away by Jasper to mingle some more with the rest of their guests.

Emmett and Rose went off to dance while Edward and I chatted with his parents and grandparents for a while. Well he mostly talked to his parents, while his grandparents asked me questions about my schooling, job and such, stating they wanted to know all about the young woman who had stolen their grandson's heart. They were really sweet people, as were all of his family members I had met this weekend.

As the night wore on, we danced a little, chatted with family members and were having a really good time. After most everyone had taken part in some crazy mixed up version of the Hokey Pokey, Alice and Jasper were called to cut the cake.

Once the two of them had successfully cut the cake and smeared it on each other's faces, it was announced that it was time to toss the bouquet and garter. As I took my spot amongst all the single females at the reception, I could have sworn I saw Alice looking over her shoulder and aiming for me when she tossed her flowers. It turned out that Edward and Alice's cousin Megan caught the flowers and some guy I didn't know snagged the garter.

Shortly after that, guests began to leave. Edward leaned over and whispered in my ear, "How about one more dance and then we'll call it a night?"

"Ok," I agreed. He stood and held his hand out to me. He led me over to the DJ and then whispered something into the guy's ear and pressed what appeared to be money into the guy's hand.

Winking at me, Edward then led me back on to the dance floor and took me in his arms as the first notes of a song I recognized immediately began to play: _Lady in Red. _

As we danced to the song, I could feel myself blush when it appeared all eyes in the room were on us. Everyone else had left us alone on the dance floor as if they thought they were invading on a private moment between Edward and me. I imagined though to someone watching us it would have seemed that it was just that. Edward held me close and at times sang along, whispering the words, "I never will forget, the way you look tonight."

But what really melted my heart was at the end of the song when Edward repeated the last words of the song, "My lady in red, I love you."

Then with his left arm wrapped tightly around my waist and his right hand under my hair cradling my head, he kissed me slowly, softly, without stopping for as long as he could, as if we were the only two people in the room.

We said our goodbyes to everyone and congratulated Jasper and Alice again, along with telling them we'd see them tomorrow for brunch. Then once we were back in our room, Edward and I showed each other just how much we loved one another.

The next morning I remembered why I didn't like to drink champagne when I woke with a monster headache. It wasn't that I had drunk a lot it, just that it almost always gave me a headache for some reason. Edward and I snuggled in bed for as long as we could, talking about how much fun the weekend had been, and how much we wished we could stay longer.

A hot shower and a couple of aspirin later, my headache wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. Edward told me it was a causal brunch so I wore a grey and black leaf print maxi dress with a black sweater over it, along with a pair of black sandals. I laughed when I came out of the bath room to see that Edward and my outfits coordinated. He had on jeans and a grey button down shirt that he had rolled up three quarters of the way. It took him a minute to figure out what I was laughing at, but once he did he was laughing too and saying, "Great minds think alike." Of course I agreed.

Now dressed and ready to go, we got all of our things packed and ready as well. We then went down to Emmett and Rose's suite to walk down to brunch with them.

The brunch consisted of a huge buffet containing just about every breakfast food you could think of and an ample selection of lunch items too. As Edward and I went along putting the items we wanted on our plates, he kept putting things on mine as well.

"What are you doing, I can't eat all this food," I said as he was adding a couple of sausage links to my plate.

"Don't you know?" Rose asked while snickering from in front of me as she filled her own plate.

"No, tell me."

"He doesn't want it to look like he's eating all that food so he's putting it on your plate. Emmett used to do the same thing until he quit caring and just piled on whatever he wanted."

I looked around Rose to where Emmett was in front of her and sure enough he had a huge amount of food on his plate. I shook my head in amusement and turned around to ask Edward if that was what he was doing. But before I could do so, I noticed a "I'm busted" kind of smirk on his face, giving me my answer. I rolled my eyes him and continued along the buffet until I had what I wanted.

I sat down at the table while Edward put his plate at his place and went to get us some juice and coffee.

All throughout the meal, Alice was chattering constantly about her honeymoon. I couldn't blame her, I'd be pretty excited if I were going to Hawaii too. Although as awesome as I pictured Hawaii to be, I had a hard time imagining any place being more spectacular than Capri.

When we were done eating, everyone sat around talking to kill the little bit of time Alice and Jasper had left before they needed to leave. Esme came over and sat in the empty chair on the other side of Edward and began her campaign to redo his rooftop patio. I thought it was funny when Edward proclaimed he was being ganged up on, after Esme enlisted my help in convincing him. What else could I do? What she described sounded amazing.

Rose and I got up to go to the ladies room, which actually was divided into two rooms. One was a large lounge type room, complete with a small sofa, a chair and a wall-to-wall mirror. The next room held the toilets and sinks for washing your hands.

As Rose and I entered the first room we heard two women talking in the other. It didn't take us more than a minute to determine that it was Chelsea and she was talking about Edward and me.

"I just don't see what's so special about her," the annoying woman whined.

"Chelsea, you have a fabulous husband, please tell me you are not still hung up on Edward Cullen," said another voice.

"Oh please. I was done with him a long time ago. Why do you think I cut him loose? I moved on to someone much better than Edward will ever be. No, what I was talking about was the way everyone in his family was fawning over her. Hell even Alice did it. Did you see the way Alice pulled her around the rehearsal dinner Friday night, showing her off like she was some trophy or something?"

The longer Rose and I stood there listening to this woman carry on, the more pissed I became. Rose was getting just as mad, if not more so. I could sense her anger and annoyance welling up inside her.

I was about to go into the next room and put an end to Chelsea's comments when her and her friend came around the corner. Most normal people would be concerned or embarrassed that I had overheard their conversation, but not Chelsea.

She looked right at me and remarked, "Well if it isn't, Little Miss Sunshine herself."

"What is your problem?" Rose snapped.

"My problem is that I've been practically a member of this family for as long as I can remember, and Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows comes along and in one day has them eating out of the palm of her hand. She's nothing compared to me. So excuse me if I am a little baffled by it all," she quipped.

Rose started to lunge at her, but I pulled her back. "No Rose, she isn't worth it."

I started shaking my head and laughing at the absurdity of the situation. She had so much arrogance and misplaced confidence buzzing around her. Talk about your typical stuck up snobby bitch. That was exactly what this woman was.

"What the hell are you laughing at?" she spewed at me.

"You. You really don't get it do you?"

"Well you obviously think you know it all, so why don't you clue me in?"

This woman had no clue. She was too damn stupid to see what a good man was, when she'd had Edward. And by no means was I putting down her husband. I didn't know the man or anything about him. But she was too busy making a fool of herself with her petty actions to realize that by hurting Edward she had hurt them all. Not only that, I refused to let her talk so lowly of Edward, like he was a lesser man simply because he didn't want to marry her. If for no other reason she should respect them enough due to her friendship with Alice.

"Let's see. For starters, did it ever occur to you that Esme and Carlisle were aware of how you hurt their son? How you broke up with him, hurt him and then tried to manipulate him into taking you back? And that by doing so you hurt them?"

"Well I see he's told you about us," she said with a sarcastic edge.

"Yes. I know exactly who you are. Edward and I have no secrets between us. And let me tell you, Alice wasn't exactly thrilled with your behavior towards her brother either. Her words, not mine. Edward and his family are wonderful people and you are supposed to be Alice's best friend. Yet you stand here the day after her wedding and demean them by talking about them behind their backs. How can you call yourself her best friend? Doesn't it bother you at all that you hurt them? That you hurt Edward?"

"Oh get over it. What they don't know won't hurt them."

"No, maybe not. But I know and I care about them so it hurts me. You think any of them, especially Edward, gives two shits about you and your perfect little life you are going off to in Chicago? You think Edward cares that your husband is going to be working where his father went to school? News flash, sweetheart, Edward has the life he chose. He could have gone to med school and become a doctor had he wanted to. But he chose a different path. It was his life and his choice. So let me give you some advice—" she cut me off before I could finish.

"Her give me advice? Oh this ought to be good," she sneered to her friend.

"Yes. I would suggest you take your hoity-toity self to Chicago and go on about your perfect little made up world and leave the Cullens alone."

"And if I don't?" she asked defiantly.

"Like I said, Edward and I have no secrets between us. I don't think he will take it too lightly when I tell him about your comments regarding his sister and me. If there is anyone who can persuade him to keep it to himself it will be me. So unless you give me your word right now that you are going to keep your mouth shut from here on out, I will be more than happy to make sure Esme hears all the sordid details of the little conversation I overheard. How do you think she'd feel about decorating your new house for you then?"

She had a perplexed look on her face as though she was weighing what I had said, like she was trying to determine if I'd go through with my threat. She must have decided that I was yanking her chain because the next thing she said was, "You can't prove I said anything."

She really was a piece of work. Did she really not see it wasn't me who would have to prove anything?

"Do I really have to spell it out for you? As you so eloquently put it a few minutes ago, I have them eating out of the palm of my hand. So just who do you think the burden of proof is going to fall on?"

Rose then added, "It seems to me that Bella is everything you're not. Maybe that's why they like her so much. And because they like her so much is exactly why they will listen to her and not you."

She stood there staring at me and after a few moments I think the little light bulb in her head finally lit up. "Fine," she snapped.

"Glad we could come to an understanding," I snapped back, as I walked past her into the other room to do what I needed.

I almost fell over though when I heard Rose say to her from the other room. "You're lucky she didn't shoot your ass." I didn't know what Chelsea's facial expression was at that moment, but I could only imagine it must have been one of either shock or disbelief because Rose then said, "Yeah that's right, she's works for the FBI and has a license to carry a concealed weapon."

Next thing I heard was the ladies room door slamming and Rose's giggles echoing through the room.

When Rose and I returned to the table, Chelsea was engaged in a conversation with Alice and Jasper, and left right after that.

About a half hour later, Alice and Jasper declared it was time for them to go. After everyone wished them well, they were off. Edward, Emmett, Rose and I said our goodbyes to everyone. We then went up to our rooms to get our luggage and check out. And then once checked out we were on the road home.

On the ride home, Rose and I filled Edward and Emmett in on my little run-in with Chelsea. They both thought it was hilarious what Rose had told her about me shooting her. But just as I had suspected, Edward wasn't happy at all to hear the things Chelsea had said about me or his family. Judging by the pissed off look he had on his face, it wouldn't surprise me one bit if he told his parents.

A little more than three hours later when we arrived back at Em and Rose's house, I was tired of being in the car and ready to get home to my own house. Edward got our stuff out of the back of Emmett's suburban and put it in the trunk of the mustang.

As we pulled into the driveway of my house, I could see Edward immediately taking everything in. He was looking around for the slightest little thing that might be out of place. I started to open my car door once he had turned off the car.

Edward grabbed my hand and said, "I don't suppose you'd stay in the car if I asked you to?"

"No. Mike said the house was locked and everything looked fine."

"Ok, but will you stay close to me until we've checked out the whole house?"

"Yes."

We both got out and made our way to the front door. Edward got out the key I'd had made for him and sliding it into the lock. He turned it and once we heard sound the click of the lock releasing, he opened the door.

Together, we searched the bottom floor and found nothing. As we headed upstairs I had an eerie feeling I couldn't shake. It had me on edge. I had always loved my house and had never felt strange or out of place in it. Not even in the early days of Edward staying here.

I took the guest room and third bedroom which was my office, while Edward checked out my room and the hall bathroom. As I came out of my office I saw Edward standing still in my bedroom doorway. He wasn't moving and his body was ridged. _Something was wrong._

I rushed over to him and tried to move him out of the way.

"What is it?" I asked as I tried to push past him. He didn't budge.

"You need to pack a suitcase. We're going to my loft," he said in a cold forced tone.

"What the hell, Edward? What do you mean pack a suitcase?"

He finally stepped aside so I could see into my room. I gasped and felt my heart jump into my throat as I took in the sight. There sitting in the middle of my bed was a box of apples with a note sitting on top of them.

**Hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what ya think. So how many times have all of you watched your Eclipse dvd since last weekend? If you haven't had the opportunity to watch it with the audio commentary with Rob and Kristen I highly suggest you do. It's awesome and hilarious. **

**Thanks again for reading, see ya next time.**

**EA~**


	19. Uninvited

**Hi, everyone! I know it has been a while and I want to thank you all for being so understanding while I took a short break for the holidays. I wasn't completely idol though. I took the time to write a one shot for the Valentine's Day countdown hosted by_ breathoftwilight._ It will begin on February first. I am not sure, but I think we are supposed to remain anonymous until after the countdown, so you will have to read them all and guess which one is mine. If I get word that it's not supposed to remain anonymous, I will be sure to let you know which one is mine. When it gets closer to time for the countdown to begin, I will post more details and the link to it here and also on my blog. In the mean time for those of you who celebrated Christmas, I hope you had a very merry and happy one. I know I did. **

**So without further wait, here is our last chapter of the year. I have been told that its a real nail** **biter at times, so I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. My undying thanks and gratitude go out to My Bella and Hope4more for all they do to help me bring this fic to you. And to all of you who continue to support me and love this fic. I think I must have some of the best readers there are. You guys rock!**

**And for the last time this year, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. **

_Must be strangely exciting  
To watch the stoic squirm  
Must be somewhat heartening  
To watch shepherd need shepherd  
But you you're not allowed  
You're uninvited  
An unfortunate slight_

_**Uninvited by Alanis Morissette**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**July 25, 2010**_

"_What the hell, Edward? What do you mean pack a suitcase?"_

_He finally stepped aside so I could see into my room. I gasped and felt my heart jump into my throat as I took in the sight. There sitting in the middle of my bed was a box of apples with a note sitting on top of them. _

I felt as though an elephant was sitting on my chest. I could hardly breathe. "No, no, no, not here. How…I don't—"

I was in fear of collapsing into a heap on the floor until I felt Edward's strong arms encircling me and holding me up. He picked me up and carried me downstairs to the couch.

This was too much. First Nana's, and now here in my own home, the one place I had come to feel the safest in. I looked into Edward's emerald green eyes searching for some sort of reassurance, but instead of finding the warmth, love and security that was usually present there, all I saw was worry, anger, and concern.

"How, Edward? How did someone get in here and get past your fancy alarm system?" I begged him for answers.

Brushing my hair back from my face, he kissed my forehead and held me close to his chest. I knew he was trying to calm me down and soothe my fears, but that was going to be a difficult task right now. This bastard, whoever he was, had been in my house, my sanctuary. How much longer would I have to endure this?

"Hey," Edward said kissing the top of my head and rubbing his hand softly along my back. "I know this is hard to take. I can only imagine how violated you must feel. Right now I can't tell you exactly how they got past the alarm. I have a few ideas, but until I check things out more thoroughly, I won't know for sure."

He stopped and lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him instead of letting me keep my face buried against his chest.

"One thing I can promise you, Sweetness, I will protect you no matter what. Never doubt that. I will make sure you are safe at any cost. I know this is your home and you should be able to feel safe and secure here, but the most important thing is that you are safe. Everything else is just that, things, they are replaceable, but you…you are not and I will be damned before I let any harm come to even a hair on that beautiful head of yours."

Edward then wrapped his arms even tighter around me and stroked my hair for a few minutes before he pulled back and said he was going to call Emmett so that he could get forensics over here to help them comb the place for evidence.

I nodded and then as he scooted me off his lap onto the couch beside him, I grabbed his hand to get his attention.

"I need to help. I can't just sit back anymore; I am tired of living this way. I need to take my life back, and helping catch this sick son of a bitch is the only way I can do that. Plus, I might see something that the others won't. I mean this is my home, my haven from all the bad in my life, my job, and right now…it's not even that. If I sit here with nothing to do I am going to go stir crazy. I have to at least be able to observe and help with searching my own home."

"I actually think that would be a good idea," he said taking me by surprise. "You know this house better than anyone so you will be able to tell more so than anyone if something seems out place or missing. Let me get Emmett over here and we'll go from there. OK?"

"Ok."

It took Emmett about twenty minutes to arrive and the forensics team not long after that. First thing they did was sweep the house for listening devices. It was unlikely, but if someone wanted to track my comings and goings, it would be something they might do. After they were through with the sweep, me and a couple of the guys on the team went through the house room by room. Edward, Emmett and the other two guys from forensics went outside to search the perimeter of the house.

As we searched each room of the house I couldn't help wonder if this had been some sort of retaliation for my visit to Reynolds. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed so hard to go see him. There hadn't been any apples from him since Capri until my visit to the prison a couple of weeks ago.

But if my visit to him was the reason for this round of apples then I must have upset him far more than I had originally thought. But just what was it that set him off? Was it my insistence that I'd never be his or was it the threat of solitary confinement once he reached San Quentin? Perhaps it was the fact that he had admitted he was indeed responsible for the apples and that was something he had not intended to reveal. No matter what the reason was, I was tired of waiting to see what was to come. I guess in one aspect I was glad he'd stepped up his game; it might bring me closer to ending this once and for all. I was also tired of tip toeing around everyone in the office. I was told by my superiors that I couldn't point blank ask them if they were involved. My talent of being able to tell if they were lying would never hold up in a court of law. I did think I could possibly do a little side investigating, just poke around and ask casual, offhand questions when I was in their presence. If they were comfortable and not suspecting of me, then they might slip. I just needed a slight lead and I was sure I could bust this case wide open. I just needed an in. Until then I felt stuck.

Maybe I was closer to the truth than I thought. It could be the reason why they had chosen now to violate my personal space, my home. And then again, Reynolds was demented enough to do it just to let me know that he was still holding on to his warped fantasies.

As we continued going through the house, I was encouraged to look past the obvious and read between the lines so to speak and look for something that no one else would. So far the only signs of anyone having been here were the apples themselves and a partial muddy footprint near the back door. The footprint itself was a bit odd considering it was dry here and there was a brick walkway leading to the back door. So wherever the mud came from it had been on the person's shoe prior to their arrival here. I watched as the forensics team took a sample of the mud and took pictures and measurements of the partial print.

There was no doubt they had gotten in by picking the lock. That was a given. It was getting past the alarm that had everyone baffled until Emmett and Edward entered the house.

"You find anything," I asked as they came upstairs where we were presently going through the guest bedroom.

"Yeah, we did," Edward answered. "Let's finish going through the house again and then I'll fill ya in."

"Ok."

We next headed into my bedroom. I hadn't been in here yet so I made sure to take my time looking around, examining every surface for any minuscule sign that something was misplaced or missing.

Emmett was helping Forensics search and they were busy snapping pictures of the apples on my bed as I continued to look everything over for any type of sign someone had been there. Something was off and I just couldn't figure out what it was. I was torn between brushing it off due to the apples being placed on my bed, in such an intimate place, and driving myself to notice something more.

I kept going back to my dresser. Edward must have noticed my concentration as I stood staring at it.

"Bella, what's going on? I can see your gears spinning a million miles an hour. Have you noticed something?" he inquired as he took my hand in his.

"I can't be sure, but I keep thinking something is missing from my dresser."

"What do you mean you can't be sure?"

"Well I moved things around a bit when I was packing for our trip, so I am not sure if that is why things seem out of place or if there is truly something missing. Maybe once I unpack I will be able to tell," I explained.

"Bella," Edward said as he placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face him. "We aren't staying here. I know you wanted to be in your own home while we figured this mess out, and that was fine before. But now that someone has found a way to get in I am not taking any more chances. We can either have Emmett make arrangements for a safe house, check into a hotel under aliases or we can stay at my place. You chose, but I will not let you stay here in harm's way. I love you too much to put you at that kind of risk."

"But I—" I stopped and let out a long sigh. I was prepared to argue with him but then I realized there was no point. The truth of the matter was I didn't know if I'd ever be able to sleep in my bed again much less feel safe here right now and I absolutely hated that fact.

"But what, Bella? Please tell me you are not going to fight me on this. Not this time," Edward pleaded with me as he gripped my shoulders just a little tighter and turned me back around and nudged me towards the hall.

Once we were out of my room and had a little more privacy to speak, I told him what I was thinking. "No. I was but there's really no point. I'm just frustrated with the whole situation. I don't want to go to a safe house and I also have a hard time understanding how your place is going to be safer than here?"

He reached up to smooth back the hair that had fallen in my face. "The reason my place will be safer than here is because there is a secured entrance. Just to get into the building you have to be buzzed in by someone who lives there. The ability to do so can only be accessed by either myself or the tenant below me. There are security cameras all throughout the entryway, at the door and on the elevators. Then on top of all that I also have an alarm system on my unit. The door, the windows, they all have sensors on them. It being so secure is why I wanted to take you there when we first came back from Capri."

The longer I thought about this whole mess the more I was getting pissed. Reynolds not only harassed me, but he'd uprooted my grandmother's life and Edward's as well. And as much as I loved having Edward here with me all the time and I loved the little bubble of happiness we had wrapped ourselves in while making the most of our situation, it still wasn't fair that he had to live his life around mine. Reynolds had forced me to into having to change my whole life twice now. I also worried that by going to Edward's loft it might risk the safety of the people living in the loft below him. James Reynolds had already caused turmoil in enough people's lives, and I'd had enough.

"Agent Swan." I turned to face the voice calling my name. It was Agent Morgan from forensics. "We'd like for you to open the note that was left by the perpetrator."

I nodded and grabbed Edward's hand, dragging him with me. Not that he wouldn't have come with me anyways, but I needed to physically know he was there. His presence was a security blanket of sorts for me. I took a deep breath and leaned across the bed and picked up the note from its spot on top of the box of apples. I read the note to myself, while Edward read it over my shoulder.

**_Isabella, I find the company you keep to be very disturbing. Perhaps your little love nest isn't as safe as you think it is._**

"Ughhhhh," I groaned as handed the message over to Emmett, fighting the tears that welled up in my eyes.

Edward pulled me into his arms and held me. "I am just so sick of this shit," I mumbled against his chest as I fisted my hands in his shirt and let the tears flow, hoping they would release some of the pent up anger I was feeling.

Edward must have sensed my need to just let my emotions go. He didn't say anything at all. Instead he held me and let me have my moment. A few minutes later when I released the death grip I had on his shirt, I made my way into the bathroom to splash some cold water on my face, which left me feeling a little better.

As I exited the bathroom, everyone was gone from my room and from the quietness that surrounded me, I realized they must have all gone downstairs. I looked around my room and noticed the apples had been removed from my bed. I still couldn't shake the feeling that I was overlooking something in here. But for the life of me I couldn't pinpoint what it was right now.

I left my room and headed back downstairs to find everyone else. They were all convened in the living room discussing something. I watched as Edward was talking and pointing to an evidence bag sitting on the table. Getting closer I could see some sort of thin metal clip that appeared to have been cut inside the bag.

"What's that?" I asked while taking a seat next to him on the couch.

"That's the clip that used to be on the main circuit breaker to the house."

"You mean the electrical box outside?"

"Yes. I found it lying on the ground under the box."

"So that means whoever was in the house shut off all the power to the entire house and that's how they got past the alarm."

"Yes," Edward huffed.

"What? Why do I sense there is something you aren't saying?"

"I was just thinking a battery backup would have likely deterred them," Edward answered as he slumped back on the couch and scrubbed his hands over his face a few times.

"You didn't have battery backup on it?"

"No, but I had every intention of installing one," Edward answered with regret.

"What do you mean you had the intention of installing one and how much of a difference would it have made?" Emmett asked.

"If there was a backup it would have made a little difference. What would have happened is, when the main breaker on the house was flipped, shutting off the power, the backup source would have kicked in immediately and I would have been notified that it had. And once the door to the house was opened, the alarm would have sounded and likely scared off whoever it was. They would have gotten the door open, but chances are they would not have taken the risk of being caught here planting the apples since the alarm instantly notifies the police too," Edward explained.

"So there's no way around the backup system and what about the motion sensing lights?" I asked.

"The only way around the backup system without knowing the code to shut it off is to completely disable it. In order to do that they would've had to have access to the main box in the basement and then would've had to have had extensive knowledge of the wiring to determine which wires went to the backup power source. And even if they had enough knowledge to disable the backup power, by the time they would've done it the police would have already been notified. But it's a moot point since I didn't install it. As for the motion sensors, yes I installed them but they simply turn on a bright light allowing you to see what's out there. With us not being here and the main breaker box being on the back of the house, once they shut off the power, the lights went off too. At the time of night it occurred, I am sure any neighbors that might have noticed the lights turning on were sound asleep. If they did notice, as soon as the power was turned off, the lights were too. They likely would have thought it was a small animal and nothing to be concerned about."

"Ok, but why didn't you install a backup power source?" Emmett inquired.

"First of all I was planning to. The system that we installed here is one of the best models available. But the battery back up in it was defective. Mike, my employee, was supposed to order a replacement for it. It's part of his job and his responsibility. When enough time had gone by and the part hadn't arrived, I questioned him on it since he was supposed to have put a rush on the order, and found out that he had completely forgotten to order it. The part finally arrived last Thursday, the afternoon before we were supposed to leave for the wedding. With us being gone all weekend I wasn't in a rush and was sure it could wait until we returned. I was going to do it first thing tomorrow. And before you ask, Mike got an ear full from me. He knows exactly how pissed I was with his oversight and is well aware of how close his ass came to getting his walking papers. I can also assure you he will be hearing it all again."

Edward paused for a minute and ran his fingers through his hair as he let out a loud whoosh of air. "My second reason for not being overly concerned with the system not having a backup power source was the alarm system notifies me instantly of any power loss. Within seconds actually and I didn't anticipate there would be a reason for a power outage we wouldn't be aware of. The things that most often cause outages are storm damage or work by the power company in the area. Storms that cause outages are not something that generally go unnoticed. You are usually aware of them by their ferocity and when work is being done in an area that will cause an outage, the company notifies their customers so they are aware. The only other way to cause a loss of power would be to cut the main wires and since the alarm is wired through the interior of the home there is no way to do it from the outside."

Edward got up and began pacing back and forth across the room. His level of frustration was clear from the tenseness of his jaw muscles. I could see them twitch from time to time.

He stopped in front of the window with his back to us. Letting out a long whoosh of air, he started talking again. "Did I factor in someone messing with the main breaker on the house...yes. But the power company would have had a conniption fit had they discovered any kind of locking device put on the box since they determine it to be their property. And with them reading the meter each month for billing purposes, it is likely they would have seen it and required us to remove it. And besides, the most we could have done is put a stronger lock on the box and they can be cut too, quite easily with the right tool. So protecting the main breaker is virtually impossible."

"I've just one question," Emmett said. "If the battery system was defective, how do you know the alarm itself wasn't?"

"Because I tested it several times to make sure it went off as it should. I think we must have driven the whole neighborhood crazy that day. Every dog around here was barking from all the noise. Besides, remember the clip was clearly cut off the box and I received the alert noting the power loss."

"He's right it was purposely cut off. It's a clean cut. Cut right in two. No sign of it being aged or weathered and having fallen off on its own," Agent Morgan added.

Emmett nodded accepting the answers from both men and then as if he felt the need to reassure Edward of his faith in him to do his job, Emmett then said, "Just had to ask. Wasn't meaning to indicate I doubted your thoroughness or ability to do your job."

"It's ok, I understand. I would have asked too," Edward said with a frustrated sighed.

Even though I sat there and heard him defending his actions, I could see what he was doing. He was blaming himself and I wasn't going to allow it to go on any longer. I got up and went to him.

"Hey," I said softly as I rested my hand on his arm. "This isn't your fault. They obviously somehow knew we'd be gone. Because had we been here there is no way they would have gotten in or if they had, we would have busted them in the act. And while I hate the fact that this scumbag was in my home, like you pointed out to me earlier, I'm safe, we're safe. Please don't beat yourself up over this."

He didn't move. He continued to stand there staring blankly out the window. I scooted around in front of him and placed myself between him and the window. I slid my hands up his chest and tugged on his shirt collar. "Edward, look at me please." He sighed and lowered his head. At first his eyes were closed, but when I whispered, "Please," one more time he gave in to my pleas.

Looking at him intently, I said, "We have to know soon. Almost everyone in the office has been eliminated. So as soon as either Jessica or Jake is cleared we'll hone in on the other and begin the process of proving their guilt. Reynolds knows he is about to be transferred. Maybe this is just his last big hurrah to harass me while he still can."

"Maybe so, but I still don't like it," he declared as he leaned down and placed a quick kiss on my lips. I could see by the faraway look in his eyes and the annoyed tone in his voice that I hadn't gotten him to completely quit blaming himself, but I would wait until we were alone to address it further.

We talked with the guys from forensics for a few minutes and they asked me to go through the house one last time to see if anything stood out to me. I still had the feeling something was off in my room, but couldn't place what it was. Once pictures were taken of the scene and all the evidence was tagged and removed, forensics and Emmett left. If I hadn't already been feeling violated with the knowledge some creep had been in my home, in my bedroom, I was now as I looked around and saw the disheveled mess my home had become from the search to make sure nothing else had been left behind by the uninvited guest. No drawer had gone unsearched. No furniture cushion left unchecked, hell they had even riffled through my underwear drawer in my room and it left me with the urge to shop for new ones, feeling as if the ones I had were now somehow tainted. I understood why it had to be done, but I certainly didn't have to like it.

"You ready to get our stuff together so we can head over to my place?" Edward asked, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Yeah, but how about we just grab enough for a day or two right now? It's been a long day with the drive from Vancouver and then coming home to this. I'm tired and just want to snuggle up with you and try to not think about this for a little while."

"That sounds great actually," he replied after he kissed the top of my head.

Edward then took my hand and we went up the stairs together. After throwing together enough clothes for the next couple of days we got in the car. As we backed out of the driveway, I couldn't help but look around, wondering if we were being watched now and if we'd be followed as we drove to Edward's loft. He must have been thinking the same thing as I noticed him glancing in the review mirror more often that he usually did when driving.

On the way we grabbed some burgers and fries and a couple of chocolate shakes for dinner. It wasn't the healthiest meal in the world, but it was fast and easy and just what we needed after the day we'd had.

Edward and I had been watching some home remodeling show on one of those do it yourself channels when my phone began to chirp. Seeing it was Emmett, I answered it right away. "Hey, Em, what's up?"

"Hey, Bella. Look, I have a couple of things I'd like to talk to you and Edward about in the morning. So will you both come see me as soon as you get to the office?"

"Sure. Everything ok? You sound a bit off."

"Yeah. I'm fine, just lots on my mind, part of which is why I'm calling. I have a couple of ideas I wanted to run by you and Edward before I did anything."

"No problem, we'll see ya as soon as we get there," I told him as my curiosity was eating at me about what he wanted to see us about.

Ending the call, I let Edward know what Emmett had wanted. I yawned and was about to suggest heading up to bed, when Edward got up and tugged on my arm and said, "Come on. I know exactly what you need."

He led me to his room where he instructed me to sit on the edge of the bed and wait. He left his room and came back smelling faintly of the body wash I had used last time I was here. It was tropical scent with a hint of coconut, and the fragrance wafting in the air reminded me of the first time we made love here in Edward's bed.

"What are you up to, Cullen?"

"Just wanna help my girl relax before she goes to bed. I know this has been hard for you and I want to take care of you. Is that so bad?" he asked as he took my hand and pulled me up off the bed and held me tightly against him.

"Mmm, nothing wrong with it at all," I said as I reached up and placed a soft kiss where his jaw and neck met. "I just have one request though."

"And what would that be, Sweetness?"

"That you join me."

"I think I can arrange that," he said lowering his face and covering my lips with his. Without breaking the kiss, he picked me up and carried me to the bathroom.

Setting me back down on my feet, we began to undress each other, taking our time and savoring every moment as we kissed and touched until we were both bare. Edward had dimmed the light in the room, giving it a soft glow similar to that of candle light.

"No candles?" I teased, leaning my head back, allowing him better access to the spot on my neck where he was currently placing languid open mouthed kisses.

"Nope. Remember you are the only woman who has ever been here. So I am totally unprepared for setting up romantic moments. But you can be sure I will rectify that as soon as I can because I plan to have plenty of them here with you."

"You're gonna spoil me, Edward."

"That's the plan, Sweetness. Now let's get you in the water before it gets cold."

Edward stepped into the water first and then held my hand as I climbed in. We got situated with me sitting between his legs with him behind me. I could already feel how excited he was, the evidence of it pressing into my back. It didn't take long for our gentle caresses as we washed one another to turn into heated kisses and exploring touches that led to a need for something entirely different than a relaxing soak in the tub.

After making love and subsequently a mess on the bathroom floor that Edward insisted on cleaning up, we snuggled together in his gigantic bed. However even as I laid there safe in Edward's arms with our bodies wrapped around each other like a ribbon on a Christmas present, the image of the apples on my bed and the words from the note crept into my head.

I began to try and put together what may have upset Reynolds enough to make him want to invade my home. I started replaying everything that had happened since my return to Seattle. I again recounted how the box of apples in Capri had been the last ones I'd received until now. The only things of significance I could come up with were my visit to see Reynolds and his impending transfer to San Quentin. I was becoming more convinced that I had gotten to him even more than I had originally thought and he was retaliating for it. Or maybe the possibility he was indeed trying to get in one last dig at messing with my head before his transfer like I had mentioned to Edward earlier? And then there was the feeling like something was missing in my room. Specifically off my dresser. I closed my eyes and tried to replay my visit with Reynolds in my head like a movie reel. It wasn't pleasant, but I was trying to see if I had missed anything that might give me an answer.

And there it was at the end of the visit. I hadn't thought about the fact that Reynolds had seen me in Edward's arms as he was being taken back to his cell. How ironic was it that he claimed to want me for himself, but it was his actions that led me to meeting Edward and to being forced to have Edward live with me. Of course Reynolds would never accept that it was his fault. No, men like him would deem me an unworthy, unfaithful person, even if in reality there was nothing between us. In his warped mind there was and that was enough to cause him to feel betrayed and want to lash out. Going to Italy had been conceived by him as me trying to get away from him, and now I was unfaithful as well. Both were things that Reynolds had spoken of about his victims.

I would make sure to point these things out to Edward and Emmett tomorrow morning when we talked. I wanted to make sure they were aware incase Reynolds somehow tried to ramp up his taunting before his transfer. Maybe we could have him put in solitary confinement now until he was moved. It also really made me wonder why the hell it took so long for someone who had been placed on death row to be executed. If it were up to me, it would have been done a long time ago, right after his conviction. It's not like they had to wait for any possible appeals to be processed, he'd confessed and made no attempts to plea bargain for his life at all. So why use up tax payers money supporting him; I just didn't get that aspect of the whole system.

_**July 26, 2010**_

When Edward and I arrived at the bureau the next morning, Emmett was on his way into a sudden meeting with his boss, Seth and for some reason Sam. He said for both of us to sit tight and wait for him to come talk with us. However the wait was incredibly hard. I had this strange sensation that something big was about to happen. Edward tired to keep me calm, but I felt like a caged animal needing to be let loose. I alternated between pacing the room and staring out the window, chewing on my thumbnails.

It was somewhat a relief to have something to do for a few minutes when I was forced to take a short walk to use the public restrooms located on our floor after finding the ladies room in our office was out of order again. It seemed to be an every few months occurrence and Jessica and I had become used to it and laughed about making discrimination claims because it was always the women's and not the men's that had issues.

Finally close to noon, Emmett was knocking on the door to my office and asking us to meet him in his office in five minutes. On our way there we noticed Seth flying out of the office like a bat out of hell.

Emmett's office door was wide open so Edward and I went in and sat down. Something was up. I could feel it in every fiber of my body. My heart was beating faster, the hair on the back of my neck felt like it was standing up and there was a palpable tension in the air.

A few minutes after we arrived in his office, Emmett entered with Sam following closely behind him.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting after I asked you to meet with me as soon as you got here, but we've had some interesting developments," Emmett stated as he sat down behind his desk.

"Well fill us in," I begged, dying from the suspense.

"I've been in a meeting all morning with Seth, Sam and my boss, Commander Erikson. First Seth has stumbled onto something and is in the process of checking it out. I can't give you the details now, but as soon as Seth either proves or dispels it, we will fill you in."

"What the hell, Emmett? This is my life we are talking about and you can't give me the details," I snapped.

"No, direct orders from Erikson. But there is other information I can give you."

"And what does this have to do with him?" Edward asked pointing to Sam. "I don't mean any disrespect; I only have Bella's safety in mind. But no one else has been involved until now, so why now?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. I assure you it is safe and needed," Emmett replied.

Edward nodded, trusting Emmett's judgment for the time being.

"So what's this other information that is supposed to placate me until you tell me what the hell Seth is up to?" I asked.

"First, Erikson is on the phone as we speak, trying to work out the details of getting Reynolds transferred now and not in two weeks as scheduled. If not he will be placed in solitary confinement until the transfer takes place. This is what I wanted to talk to you about and the reason for my call last night."

"Good, I was actually going to bring those two issues up this morning along with something else I've thought of," I told him.

"What?" Emmett and Edward asked in unison. Edward looked pretty shocked that I had not mentioned anything to him.

As all three men's eyes were glued on me, I filled them in on how I thought this latest stunt by Reynolds was in response to my visit and him seeing Edward and I together. At first they didn't make the connection, but as I reminded them of Reynolds' key reasons for his heinous acts towards his victims, the three of them agreed with my theory.

I finished informing them by saying, "My best guess would be he had me watched after he saw Edward and I embracing one another at the prison and was quickly informed that Edward was living with me."

"You may be right about that and like you said yesterday he wanted to mess with you one last time with his transfer looming ever closer," Edward stated.

"That brings up my next topic," Emmett said. "Sam," he said and looked over at him.

Sam dug into his pocket and pulled out a small ring and set it on Emmett's desk in front of us.

"You're giving me jewelry?" I asked, completely caught off guard and perplexed as to the reasoning behind it.

"Yes. But this is not your average piece of costume jewelry," Sam offered.

"Ok. One of you care to explain?" Edward asked.

Emmett got up and walked around his desk and perched himself on the corner of it right in front of us. He picked up the ring and then said, "I know it's a long shot for us to need something like this, but this ring has a tracking chip in it. I want you to wear it, Bella."

He handed the ring to me and I turned it in my hand, looking at it. It was a smooth, oval shaped, white stone of some sort on a silver band. I slipped it on the ring finger of my right hand, but it was too big, so I placed it on my pointer finger where it stayed in place.

"Why would I need to wear a tracking device, Em? You think someone is going to come after me? Reynolds is locked up."

"No, Bella, I am not worried about that. Like I said, it's way out there in left field for us to need it. But as we get closer to nabbing the mole we have here in the office, things could get tricky. Anything could happen. People do crazy assed shit when they are backed into a corner with no way out. I don't want to scare you, but in the event of some sort of hostage situation, we would want to know where you are at all times. Sam is in the process of placing two more chips in watches for Edward and me to wear as well since we are the ones most involved in the case. If nothing else, if we go on a manhunt we will be able to be traced and sent backup support if it were needed or God forbid one of us gets hurt. You know this is a dicey job at times, Bella, and we have to have all bases covered whether we think it will be utilized or not."

"Well when you put it like that I have to agree," Edward added. "In my experience in the Army, on missions it was often necessary for us to use similar devices when going behind enemy lines."

"Is there anything else?" I asked.

"Yes. I was informed this morning by human resources that Jessica has put in for a transfer to our field office located in San Francisco."

"Emmett, I'm not a geography expert, but isn't that just a hop, skip and jump away from San Quentin?"

"Yes, Bella. You would be correct on that. It's about a half an hour away to be exact," Emmett confirmed.

"Damnit. I can't believe I didn't put it together sooner. If she is the accomplice it explains so much. Like why she had such interest in Edward," I blurted out. "All her concern over me being so upset and telling me that Edward was a hottie, acting like she was worried about my love life and it was all an act."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Emmett demanded to know.

"Well from the moment I arrived back, she's been nosey. But of course she always has been. That's just how she is. She's a busy body always snooping into everyone else's business. But I always thought it made her fit for her job since it could aid in her discovering details and searching out information and so on. But she had been determined to get the scoop on Edward after the first time she saw him arrive with me. And she questioned me about the flowers he sent my first day back. Especially after she found me a blubbering mess in the ladies room."

The look Edward got on his face at the mention of my emotional state that day told me how painful the distance between us at that time had been for him as well.

"Did you ever get the impression she was lying to you?" Emmett asked.

"No. Never. But then again if she was fishing for info to report back to Reynolds, there really was no reason for her to lie. All she had to do was ask questions. And to be honest, I was such an emotional mess, I may not have picked up on it if she were."

"Well for now it is just a lead like all the rest and we are checking into any possible connection she might have with Reynolds. In the mean time we keep tabs on her, go about things as normal as possible to keep her from suspecting anything so she doesn't try to flee. Because this case is dragging on, Erikson has requested some outside help from another bureau. They will be doing field work only, tailing her as well as providing us with a lookout at her house and her girlfriend's too. One of the other things we are doing is waiting for a subpoena to search her and Reynolds' lawyer's bank accounts for any suspicious transactions. Whether she's involved or not, I am willing to bet the attorney is the middle man and the one funneling the money to whomever it is doing the dirty work for Reynolds. Anyone have any other questions, comments they want to add?"

"You can't tell us where Seth is?" I inquired one last time.

"No, Bella. I know it's hard for you to not know everything going on. We should have the answers to what Seth is doing by tomorrow at the latest. Until then I am asking you not only as your superior, but as your friend, to trust me."

"And you think this whole thing is being driven by money?" Edward asked.

"On Reynolds' behalf, no. But for whomever it is aiding him, yes, and the bank account records will prove that. If we see large deposits made to his lawyer's account we can ask to see the contract of service agreement made when Reynolds' hired the guy and rule out the possibility that it is compensation for services rendered. And in the mean time we don't want you going back to your place at all, Bella. Even with an alarm they found a way in. I don't want you or Edward taking any unnecessary risks."

"I need to get more clothes. We were tired last night and only grabbed a few things."

"Fine then let's go now. Sam and I will tag along and you can get as much as you need," Emmett ordered as he reached in his desk and pulled out his gun and badge.

We all got up to leave. Edward and I went back to my office briefly so that I could grab my purse and then meet the two of them by the main office door. We made it to my house fairly quickly and the first thing I did was empty out the fridge, so it didn't grow things only a microbiologist would be able to name. Then Emmett and Sam waited downstairs while Edward and I went up to my room to collect our things.

It didn't take Edward nearly as long since he didn't have as much. While he was taking his bags downstairs, I suddenly found myself angry and in a moment of rage, I began looking around my room for something to lash out on. The sudden surge of anger hit me like a freight train. I was pissed at this entire situation and needed to get it out. Turning around I found my victim. I began tearing the blankets and sheets off my bed and flinging the pillows against it as if I was having a pillow fight with the bed. I didn't even stop when one of the pillows tore open and feathers began flying everywhere. In my rage, I knocked my bedside lamp off the table and sent it crashing to the floor.

Next thing I knew I felt two strong arms around me as I slumped to the floor in a mess of sheets and feathers and cried in my frustration. I heard Edward's velvet voice next to my ear, whispering words of love and comfort as he held me and rocked me back and forth. A short time later I was able to pull myself together.

We had begun to clean up the mess when I made a discovery that left me shaken like never before. There in the mess of feathers and sheets, was about five or six pictures of Edward and I. Pictures of us in Forks, at the lake, and in my parent's yard kissing by the tree. The one that really got me though, was the one of Edward and I dancing at Alice's wedding reception. I knew the exact moment the picture had been taken too. Edward and I were gazing lovingly into each other's eyes as we danced to Lady in Red.

I raced to the bathroom and heaved the contents of my stomach into the toilet. I was physically sick at the thought of this bastard not only taunting me and invading my home, but now tarnishing one of my most treasured memories with Edward. In that moment, I vowed to myself that the son of a bitch doing this to me was going to pay. If it took every last ounce of energy I had, I would find him or her and make them regret what they had done to my life.

**Thanks for reading, I will have a teaser posted on the blog and The Fictionators website on Monday. The is also a picture of Bella's ring on my blog. Happy New Year, have fun and stay safe!**

**EA~  
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	20. I Will Not Bow

**Good morning and happy Friday everyone! I hope you've had a great week. Thank you _Hope4more_ and _My Bella_ for all your help. Thank you to all of you who have recently added this story to your alert or fav's list. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it. I also have to give a big shout out to ****_MedusaInNY_** **for pimping TLA on the PIC FIC website. Your love and support of this story and your friendship means the world to me. And one more thanks to _NoelleSeven_ for letting me pick your brain about Bella's doc visit.  
**

_I Will Not Bow, I Will Not Break  
I Will shut the world away  
I will not fall, I will not fade  
I will take your breath away_

_**I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**July 26, 2010**_

Once, I'd finally calmed down and we'd gotten the mess I'd made of my bedroom cleaned up Edward, Emmett, Sam and myself went to Edward's loft where we talked more about the pictures that had fallen out of my bedding. I had never felt so violated and infringed upon in all my life. The feelings I'd had when the apples showed up at Nana's house were nothing compared to how I felt now. This was so much worse, more personal. The apples themselves had been bad enough to rattle my normally strong resolve, but to find pictures of Edward and I during some of our most intimate moments caused just about every negative emotion I had to boil over.

The pictures had obviously been planted in my bed when the apples had been left. When I made the comment that it was rather ludicrous for whoever it was to think I'd actually sleep in that bed any time soon, Emmett said they were probably counting on it being a second hit to me. That just when I was feeling safe again and ready to sleep in my bed, I'd find the pictures, and boom, I'd be an emotional mess again. For that reason alone I was glad that I had found them now and could deal with it all at once.

Emmett was more adamant than ever I wear the ring with the tracking device. We were all in agreement that I was being watched, even if it were for the sole purpose to cause me emotional turmoil and nothing else.

And as much as I hated it, I knew Emmett was right when he said, "I would love to believe this is simply about messing with your head because you were able to get into his. But, Bella, you know as well as I do that criminal behavior can escalate over time. If Reynolds has truly been agitated by your visit and seeing you with Edward, then who knows what he might try before his transfer date. I think you know that we have to have all our bases covered and be prepared for anything."

I nodded because he was absolutely right. We had seen it before. With everything having been discussed for now, Sam left to go and get the chips implanted in the watches for Em and Edward as well as Seth and himself now too.

As Emmett was leaving he made me promise to make an appointment to meet with the FBI staff psychiatrist tomorrow. He said he knew I was tough, but what I was going through was a lot for anyone to have to handle and he wanted to make sure I didn't suffer any lasting repercussions from this whole ordeal. And of course because it was an order and not a suggestion I didn't have any choice. However, as a psychologist I knew it was probably a good idea.

_**July 27, 2010**_

Sleep had been next to impossible last night. I'd tossed and turned unable to shut my thoughts off. When I finally did fall asleep from sheer exhaustion, even the safety and security of being in Edward's arms didn't keep my nightmares from returning.

I tried to argue with Edward when he told Emmett that I'd been up all night and wouldn't be in today, but it didn't do me any good. Once Emmett had heard that I was having nightmares again, his biggest concern was making sure I made an appointment with the Bureau's staff psychiatrist, Didyme Bartholomew. He said if I was in any way suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder it needed to be addressed immediately.

So as soon as Edward was finished talking with Emmett, I made the call and set up an appointment for the next day. After I hung up, Edward took both my hands in his and in a soft, concerned and loving voice he said, "I know you have to talk to this FBI psychiatrist because its normal procedure given what you are going through. But I just want to make sure you know that I am here for you as well. I'm pretty sure you do, but I feel the need to say the words to you anyhow."

"I do know and I promise I will. Soon, I'm just not ready yet."

"Ok," he said after placing a kiss on my forehead.

For most of the rest of the morning Edward and I didn't say a whole lot to each other. He spent some time on the phone and computer taking care of business matters that needed to be tended to. Watching him work added to my guilt over how disrupted his life had become due to his involvement in this mess that had become my life. And as I sat on the couch flipping through the TV channels, unable to find anything to entertain me, I found myself second guessing my career choice. Thinking that I might have been better off if I'd gone into private practice or maybe even pursued teaching like my mother. It had crossed my mind at one time and was the reason behind my minor in English-lit in college.

Restless and in need of some fresh air, I went out onto the balcony located off Edward's living room. For all the gloom and doom in my life right now, I could still appreciate what a beautiful day it was today. The sun was shining and it was warm, but not hot like it could sometimes get this time of the year. It wouldn't be long before the days would turn cooler. I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy the feel of the warm sun on my face when I felt two strong hands resting on my hips and that ever present hum of energy that flowed constantly between Edward and me.

"You ok?" Edward asked before resting his chin on the top of my head. I felt a small smile play on my lips as he did. It still surprised me as how well we fit together. I leaned back into him and took comfort from his presence.

"I will be," I whispered.

"Whatcha thinking about?"

"You'll laugh at me when I tell you."

"Nah, but go ahead and tell me."

"I was thinking about that show _Lost _and how all those people were stranded on that tropical island. I don't know much about it, I only watched it a couple of times, but I was thinking how nice it would be right now to be them, stuck on that island far far away from this whole mess with Reynolds."

"You know, Sweetness, I can totally understand why you feel that way. You know when this is all over, we can go away. I'll take you to a tropical island somewhere if that is what you want."

"Mmmm, that would be nice. Too bad it couldn't be just you and me and no one else."

"Whatever would we do there all alone with all that free time on our hands, Sweetness?" he murmured against my ear, sending chills down my spine.

"I am sure we could find plenty of things to do to occupy each other," I teased and rubbed my rear against him. However the mood was quickly ruined when I unleashed a huge yawn I had been fighting to hold back.

"Why don't you try to lie down and get some rest?"

"Maybe later. I'm good for now," I lied. Truth was I was exhausted.

"Jesus, Bella, just stop it with the tough act right now," Edward huffed in frustration as he spun me around to face him. Cupping my face with both hands in a gentle but yet firm grip, he scolded me. "How do I get it in that thick, beautiful head of yours that it's ok to be scared? That it's ok to feel violated and feel like your world has been invaded by an unwanted intruder? Because we both know it has, Bella. And all the emotions, the anger, the hate, the insecurity, the fear are all normal and you don't have to hide them. Especially not from me. You just have to figure out how to not let them consume you and rule you."

"I'm sorry," I murmured.

"Sorry? Sweetness, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. You haven't done anything wrong. I don't understand why you insist on either acting as if nothing has happened, or you beat yourself up over this and think it is somehow your fault. Because damn it it's not."

"You mean like you beat yourself up over the shit with the alarm?" I asked in a much harsher tone than I had meant to.

"Yeah, exactly like that," he barked back at me. "But don't you see, the difference is I've moved past it and you are letting it eat at you. If you tear yourself apart over this and let it eat at you, you are letting him win. Like I said before it is ok to feel all those emotions, but let them motivate you instead of drag you down. Let them drive you to find out who this prick helping Reynolds is and make him pay. Let it propel you to bring them down so we can move past this. Do. Not. Let. Them. Win."

As his words and the fiery edge that had been present in his voice resonated through me, I let it fill me and restore my will to beat this and not let it drag me down any longer. Everything Edward had said was right. I had done nothing wrong. In fact I had done something very right by making sure the monster known as James Reynolds was going to pay for crimes he had committed. For the lives he had ruined and taken before they should have been. I had just promised myself last night that I was going to do exactly what Edward was suggesting, make Reynolds' accomplice pay. If I was busy wallowing in my own emotions, I wouldn't do anyone any good, especially myself.

"I'm sorry, you are so right."

"You really mean that?" Edward asked as his eyes searched mine for the truth, making sure I wasn't simply just telling him what he wanted to hear.

"Yes. I really do. I get what you're saying. I've done nothing wrong and I'm not going to let this rule my life. I've got too much to be happy about. I've got you and your love and I won't let him take our happiness from us."

"Promise?"

"Promise." And I meant that promise to him, only problem was it was so much easier said than to believe. But I was going to try my hardest. I wouldn't give up without a fight.

He leaned forward and kissed my forehead before pulling me into his arms. "I love you so much, Bella."

"I love you too."

Edward and I went back inside and after eating a light lunch, we settled together on the couch. He sat with his legs propped up on the coffee table and I curled up against his side. It wasn't long after he found a baseball game on that I found myself drifting to sleep to the sounds of the game combined with his fingers slowly running through my hair. The last thing I remembered before I was out was him pulling the throw off the back of the couch down around the both of us and kissing the top of my head as he whispered he loved me.

I was shocked when I woke up to find that I had slept for nearly three hours. As I sat up and stretched like a cat waking from a nap in the sun, I saw Edward yawn and rub his eyes, which told me he had fallen asleep too. When my stomach growled loudly, Edward chuckled and asked if I was hungry.

"Yeah, actually I am," I answered through a yawn as I continued to become more alert.

"How about we order pizza and take it up to the roof and enjoy the sunset?" Edward suggested as he pulled me over onto his lap.

I could see he was doing anything he could to keep me smiling and distracted so I didn't dwell on what had happened and I loved him for it.

"I love that idea. You order the pizza and I am gonna go freshen up a bit." I moved to hop off his lap but he pulled me back for a heart stopping kiss that caused me to tingle all the way to my toes. Once he finally freed my lips from his, I made my way upstairs and splashed some cold water on my face to help wake me up. I then ran my brush through my hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Before heading back downstairs to Edward, I snuck into his closet and pulled out a long sleeved flannel shirt to throw on over the short sleeved one I was wearing since I knew the evening air would be much cooler than it had been this afternoon.

Once the pizza arrived, Edward went down to get it. After that we grabbed a blanket and a couple of beers to take up on the roof with us.

As we ate we talked about what we'd like to do once this mess was over. The idea of going to a tropical island somewhere came up and Edward expressed an interest in going back to Capri. He said he not only wanted to see everything there was to see on the island, but he wanted to explore mainland Italy as well. I told him that I was sure Nana would love to have us visit and I would love to go back too. Before we knew it, the sun had set completely and I was yawning again. We picked up the trash from our dinner and made our way back into the loft.

After putting the leftover pizza in the fridge, we both headed to bed hoping to sleep better than we had the night before.

_**July 28, 2010**_

Edward and I were eager to get to the bureau after receiving a call from Emmett saying he had some news for us and that we should come straight to his office. I had a hard time remaining patient as we rode the elevator up to the thirty-fifth floor. In my nervous state, I found myself tapping my foot restlessly on the floor. My mood wasn't aided by the fact it seemed that everyone and their brother was getting on and off the elevator today, slowing down its ascent to the floor we needed.

By the time the door pinged signaling we had reached our floor, I was ready to sprint out of the small space. However my excitement was quickly abated when we were met with the hulking figure of Jacob Black as soon as we entered the series of offices where I worked.

I'd had it in the back of my mind that he'd be returning from his suspension soon, but it had been forgotten in the chaos that had occurred since Edward and I had returned from Vancouver.

We avoided any type of confrontation with him since he had his back to us as we made our way towards my office to drop my things off before heading to see Emmett. Our luck was short lived though as we made our way back to the front and saw Jake staring right at Edward and I.

"Well look who it is. You don't look so well this morning, Agent Swan. The big bad wolf still giving you a hard time?" Jake chided as Edward and I walked by.

Edward stopped and took a few steps in Jake's direction causing Jake to back up an equal distance. However, his retreat was hampered when he backed into the copy machine. I couldn't help but think he must remember what it's like to have Edward's fist in his face and if he wasn't careful he was going to have it there again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tyler stand as if he were ready to jump in if the situation got out of hand.

"Did you not learn anything last time? Are you that stupid that your first day back you are going to start harassing her again?" Edward spat at Jake while clinching his fists at his sides in an effort to remain cool.

"Oh, please. Get a grip on your overdramatic self, loverboy. I'm just making an observation. She looks like she hasn't slept for a week. Aww, what's the matter? Is life not the fairytale romance you wanted it to be?" he returned with a smug tone in his voice.

Edward took another step closer to Jake and looked him straight in the eye. "This is Bella's life you are talking about. Not some fucking fairytale. And I think you'd be wise to remember that in the future, along with keeping your mouth shut unless you'd like me to shut it for you again."

"Are you threatening me?" Jake asked incredulously.

"No. I'm promising you," Edward growled.

I wasn't sure why, but with Edward's last statement, Jake backed off. Edward and I then made our way to Emmett's office. The door was shut so we knocked before entering and only did so after hearing Emmett's booming voice holler for us to do so from the other side of the wooden barrier.

We walked into the room to find Emmett deep in conversation with Seth and Sam. Emmett glanced up briefly to wave us on over to where they were seated around his desk. With the two seats directly in front of Emmett's desk taken, Edward grabbed two chairs for us from the small conference table that was located across the room and brought them over. He placed them next to Sam and Seth and we sat down, eager to hear why we had been summoned to Emmett's office.

"I guess we should forgo beating around the bush and get right to business," Emmett said, clasping his hands on his desk in front of him. "First of all, I have been able to get Reynolds' transfer to San Quentin sped up. It could be as early as tomorrow or within the next few days. If I were to guess, I would say probably on Friday, but if not then, by Monday at the latest. They are working to pull together a team for the move and as soon as everything is in place, he will be moved. Bella, you will be the first one to know after me. Now, Seth, why don't you fill us in on what you discovered on Monday?"

Seth nodded at Emmett. He began to fill us in on what he had discovered as Emmett handed us all an eight by ten photo. "Monday Emmett and I were talking about the fact that we had the same feeling as you, like we were missing something. Something that was right under our noses just waiting to be seen. So with Sam as a fresh pair of eyes, we began to go over all the information we had compiled so far. And we found something."

"Really? What did we miss? And who is this in this picture?" I asked, rattling off the series of questions and hoping we might be able to finally put this thing to rest. Although in the back of my head I knew it couldn't be that easy or else it would have already been done.

"The picture is of Henry McMillan. He is the second highest ranking guard at Stafford. We issued an APB on him Monday evening," Emmett chimed in.

"The guard? What…why?" I stuttered a bit dumbfounded by the information, but didn't hesitate to take the file that Seth held out to me.

"While going over the login register, I discovered that apparently I have the ability to be in two places at once," Seth explained.

"I don't follow," Edward said.

"We began going through each and every person to visit again and the dates, instead of just looking for someone suspicious, someone who shouldn't be there. And we found that Seth was signed in as having been there on a date that it was impossible for him to have been," Sam said.

"Why was it impossible?" I asked.

"Because he was in a meeting with Erikson at the time. In fact he was with Erikson almost all day," Emmett stated. "It was shortly after Bella returned from Italy and he was going over the caseload he would be handling since I would be primarily focusing on the Reynolds case with you."

"Ok so someone obviously impersonated Seth. Do we have any idea who and how does the guard play into all of this? You think it was him? He looks familiar like he may have been there when we visited a few weeks ago." It really surprised me with all the cameras and security measures in place that someone would try to impersonate a federal agent. So I had asked those questions, wanting to be sure we were all on the same page and thinking the same thing so there were no misconceptions between us that could lead to missing clues or going after the wrong person.

"Yes he was there and no we don't think it was the guard, but we do think he is tied into Reynolds' scam. When Seth went down to Stafford on Monday to retrieve the login desk security camera footage from the day in question, we found the tapes were missing along with the guard who had been working that same day gone. He had missed his last two shifts without any notice. Just up and vanished, no notice, no calling in sick. Nothing. Because of this, it's reasonable to suspect that he is somehow involved and most likely has the tapes. Especially since he was the guard working the sign in desk on that day. Not only does it look like he ran off with the tapes, but it gives us reason to believe he was directly involved in letting in whoever was posing as Seth in that day. So we issued the APB immediately," Emmett informed us.

"I agree. That definitely makes him a suspect. But what about Jessica's transfer and I wanted to check out Reynolds' attorney?" I asked.

Seth spoke up to say, "We've gone ahead and approved the transfer so that she doesn't suspect anything. The San Francisco branch has been notified and brought up to speed on everything so that if she has to be apprehended after the transfer it can be done without raising her suspicion. They have also sent three agents up here and they are already in place. Two are watching her and her girlfriend and the third is watching the guard's house. We can't go in until we have the warrant, but we can scope the place out for any sign of suspicious activity. They will report directly to Emmett or me twice a day unless something urgent arises."

"Why did your boss, this Erikson, wait so long to call for backup from another branch? I mean it's possible this shit could have been figured out a long time ago. You couldn't rely on your own team since they were suspects. So why are they just now giving you help?" Edward asked Emmett.

Emmett responded without hesitation. "To be honest with you, Edward, it pisses me off too. I think Erikson believed it would go away. And truthfully I don't think any of us ever anticipated that it would ever escalate to where it has now. But Erikson is taking some heat for it. The big bosses don't like that it's gone on for as long as it has or the fact that one of their own is being affected. Not to mention one of their own is a traitor."

"It's about fucking time. Bella shouldn't have to be going through this shit," Edward growled.

"No she shouldn't," Emmett agreed.

"Ok, guys, let's get out of papa bear mode. I'm fine. Now tell me what this is," I demanded of all them. I then looked over at Seth as I held up the file folder he had given to me a few minutes ago.

"It's not much, but it's everything we have at this point on the guard."

I nodded and continued to listen to the conversation going on around me as I began to browse through the file. As Seth had said there wasn't much. A copy of his employment record with the prison, normal stats like his birth date, height, weight, hair and eye color and things of that nature. It also included where he was from, marital status as well as emergency contacts. There was a photo of his car and the license plate, which was required of all the prison employees. As I looked further through his employment record, I couldn't help think that it was such a shame that he had been lured into a life of crime by James Reynolds. Mr. McMillan had an exemplary job record and had been thought of as a trusted and valued employee. And it was all undone by this one fatal mistake.

It still blew me away that it could be Jessica who was responsible for all this turmoil in my life. As a psychologist and even more importantly as a woman, Jessica was the last person I would have thought to side with a monster like Reynolds who had spent years abusing and murdering women. I guess for some people money could buy just about anything; the saying desperate times called for desperate measures came to mind. I could see where Jessica and Lauren would have the need for a large amount of money. It was just a few weeks ago that Jessica was telling me how their last attempt at in vitro had failed and how costly it was. But I still found it a difficult pill to swallow. Of course the fact that any federal agent who had dedicated his or her life to upholding the law and serving his country would betray his fellow agents and country in such a way was extremely hard to process and accept.

However as easy as it would be to focus on Jessica at this time there were other possibilities that needed to be addressed as well. This prompted my next question. "Um, Jessica is being watched. What about the attorney, Marcus Volturi?"

"I've put in the request for the warrants to obtain the information on his bank accounts as well as Jessica's. I've also requested one to search the house of the prison guard. I hope to have them either late today or tomorrow. Unfortunately the information was presented to Judge Mathews and as you know he is slow at issuing warrants. We hope to have them by tomorrow at the latest," Emmett replied.

Mathews was the last judge we needed to be waiting on right now. He was notoriously slow in issuing warrants. He could take hours, sometimes a day or more to process information before he would give the go ahead or not. It wasn't that he was a bad judge, he was simply a stickler for information and would make sure every "I" was dotted and every "T" was crossed before issuing the warrant. And on one hand you had to respect him for it. Jumping the gun and giving the authorities the right to search someone's home or private information when it shouldn't be could have life altering consequences. It could affect their lives, jobs and so much more. It could also have a negative effect and give someone who may have otherwise been arrested based on information obtained in a search, the time to flee or dispose of evidence that may have been otherwise used against them.

I knew what kind of gossip swirled around places such as prison facilities. The human mind was geared towards gossiping, especially when you are locked behind bars all the time. Something such as a prison guard on the take would be a big source of entertainment at Stafford. I had witnessed similar instances myself while questioning suspects. It concerned me not only for the case's integrity, but also for the privacy of uninvolved family members. And I wasn't just thinking about the missing guard's family either. I was also thinking about mine, Edward's, Emmett's, all of ours. The last thing we needed was a media circus here or following around any of our loved ones. For this reason I asked Emmett, "What about having a gag order placed on the other employees at the prison? If word gets around Stafford that one of their own is on the run with stolen evidence it could get leaked to the media and then our guard knows we are on to him."

"No, we don't have an official order but when I was there on Monday and I spoke to the warden, I was assured that it was only himself and the head guard who were aware of the situation and that they would remain discrete and not discuss it with anyone else. I also threw in the threat of being charged with hampering an investigation if word were to get out," Seth told us.

"What about the passports of all these suspects?" Edward asked. "Someone had to deliver the apples in Italy."

"We haven't checked them yet, but that is definitely something we will do," Emmett replied.

"One other thing that keeps popping into my head," Edward said. "If this woman Jessica is the leak, don't you think she would have had a hard time signing in as Seth? Or do you think the guard simply looked the other way while she signed Seth's name and sent her through?"

"I can understand why you would question that, Edward," Emmett said to him. "Those are the very reasons why we need to see the video footage from the security camera. But to be honest, you don't get into the FBI without being a pretty resourceful person. We have cases where we assume different identities all the time and none of us here, with the exception of Bella, are new to that aspect of the job. We have all gone undercover at some point and time in our career. So for Jessica to be able to assume the identity of a male that would resemble Seth isn't that farfetched. The only area she would be sorely lacking in would be height. But again with the guard being on the take, those things would surely be overlooked. Not to mention Seth has a bit of a signature trait with that damn FBI baseball hat that seems to be permanently attached to his head. It would certainly help shield someone's face from the camera. And as far as forging Seth's signature goes, there are any number of documents in the files located in this office where his signature could be used and practiced so it matched closely enough to pass the login machine. We've already sent a copy of the signature that was made that day as well as one we know for certain is Seth's off to the handwriting analyst."

"That's good." Then in an attempt to lighten the somber mood of the room, Edward jokingly said, "Damn and in the Army all we got to do was play with guns and ammo. You guys get to play dress up too. I should have joined the bureau instead."

"You know, Edward," Emmett began in serious tone, "we could always use another excellent agent. I know you've only been temporarily sworn in, but I've seen your military record, it's outstanding. I don't think it would take much to convince Erikson to make it a permanent thing."

"Thanks for the offer, but I am quite happy with my day job. And besides, there is only one case I want to solve and one pretty head I want to worry about keeping safe," Edward said as he looked over at me with that smile of his and winked. Damn sexy ass man and his sexy smile made me blush.

"Well the offer stands if you should change your mind."

I glanced at my watch and noticed it was almost time for my appointment with the staff psychologist. We had been talking for quite a while and it felt like it had only been a few minutes. "If that's it for now, I need to be heading out. It's almost time for my appointment with Dr. Bartholomew."

"I think that covers everything for now. We just have to play the waiting game until we get the warrants so we can act on them," Emmett stated.

"Oh speaking of time," Sam jumped in, "I'll have our watches ready to go tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Emmett told him. "Oh, one more thing," he said as everyone but Seth stood to make their way out of the office. "Just to be on the safe side, I think we all need to be armed and ready to roll, to follow up on any lead we get at any time. Bella, I have to be honest with you, and I know it will piss you off, but Sam, Seth and I will be handling most everything out in the field. I am not trying to cut you out of the loop and I promise to keep you up to speed on everything. But this has gotten way too up close and personal for you. I think you know that I don't take this decision lightly. However it's for your safety as well as everyone else's. You're an outstanding agent, but we all know when we let our emotions get the best of us, mistakes are made and accidents happen because we can't always think clearly. But I don't intend for you to sit around with your thumb up your ass either. I do have several things you can handle here. I want you to run the checks on the passports and follow up on the background check on Jessica's partner, Lauren Mallory, as well as be prepared to help sift through the bank account information when we get it."

"Right now we are all at Judge Mathew's mercy," Seth added. "So we all have to play the waiting game as Emmett said before."

"Ok," I said with a somewhat frustrated sigh. Emmett was right, I did understand where he was coming from, but I didn't like it.

"Anything I can do?" Edward asked.

"Not at this time. Just keep her safe for now. I promise if we need you, we will use you," Emmett assured him.

Edward and I made our way back down to my office where I could retrieve my gun and cell phone. I took my ID badge out of my purse and clipped it onto the waistband of my skirt. I got my shoulder holster out of my bottom desk drawer and slipped it on. I then checked my gun to make sure it had a full clip and slid it into the pouch, snapping the leather strap around it to secure it in its place. Grabbing the black blazer I kept in my office for instances such as this or if I got cold, I pulled it on to conceal my gun. We may have a right to carry them, but we certainly didn't go around flaunting or advertising it.

I looked up to see Edward watching me. "What?" I asked when I saw a gleam in his eyes.

"It's kinda hot watching you handle your gun," he said with a sexy smirk on his face.

"Oh yeah?" I said closing the distance between us. Gliding my hands up the length of his chest, I grasped the collar of his shirt. "It's not the first time you've seen me with my gun."

"I know, but things were so different between us then," Edward murmured as he lowered his face until his forehead was resting against mine.

He was so close I could feel his warm breath. Leaning even closer he rubbed his nose slowly against the side of mine. I closed my eyes and waited for the feeling of his soft warm mouth on mine. In my opinion there was very little in this world that was better than kissing Edward. It was only second to making love to him. His arms slinked around me, encapsulating me in them as they held me against him. He shifted the angle of his head just a little and his lips pressed against mine. I enjoyed the moment and wished that it could last forever. That all this chaos in our lives would just go away like someone had waved a magic wand and made it disappear. _Yes alone on a tropical island would be wonderful. _Our kiss was soft, tender and sweet as our tongues mingled together, lingering until we had to break apart for air.

As I pulled back to allow myself just enough space to look up into his eyes, I reluctantly whispered, "I have to go."

"I know," he said as he planted one last kiss on my lips. "Come on, I'll walk down with you."

Walking back through the series of offices on our way to the elevator, I could feel Edward's body stiffen with tension as we walked past Jacob. I was grateful that Jake seemed to be engrossed in working on something and didn't even so much as look up as we walked by.

When we reached the door, I stopped and turned around to look at all my co-workers. At first glance it was as if nothing were wrong. It was one of those rare days when everyone was in the office. Most of the time at least half of us were out working on the cases we'd been assigned. Solving murders, child abductions, busting counterfeit rings, and of course there was always the strange ones every now and then. The ones where people swore they saw UFOs or strange lights in the sky and you shook you head wondering where they came up with the things they imagined.

Jessica was on the phone while she thumbed through some pages of a file. Jake was typing away furiously on his computer. Tyler was sipping on a cup of coffee as he filled out some paper work. He looked up and gave us a nod of acknowledgement, but then was right back to work. Then there was Sam. He was at his desk as well. He briefly glanced up from where he was pretending to read the latest copy of _Popular Mechanics_ magazine. But I could tell as I watched his eyes move around the room, he was watching everyone. I looked down at the ring on my finger. Sam had become our go to guy for such devices since he transferred here early last year. I still didn't know him that well, but I knew if Emmett, Seth and Commander Erikson trusted him then I could too. Seth was still in Emmett's office, no doubt picking each other's brain about the info we had, trying to find any missing clues.

We made our way down four levels to the thirty first floor. Edward had told Jasper he wouldn't be in the office today so he waited with me. I went in when I was called and the hour flew by.

Dr. Bartholomew and I mostly went through the introductions and explanations about why I was there. She asked me some questions about how it was affecting my everyday life, my job and me personally. She wanted to know about my eating habits, how well I had been sleeping and when I told her about my nightmares, she asked me to describe them to her and what or if anything had happened to cause them to begin. I explained to her the events that had occurred before each of my bouts with the bad dreams and I watched as she took notes while we discussed that as well as the other topics briefly.

When the time was up, she asked to see me again on Friday. She also told me that she understood how difficult it must be for me to have to come see her since we were both in the same profession. She told me she had a few things she wanted me to think about before my next appointment with her. The first one was that she was sure that with my schooling and training I probably already knew in my head that what I was feeling was normal, but that I needed to accept it and be ok with it, not just know it in my head.

The second thing she wanted to me think about was, that she suspected I was scared for my safety and that now I was not only afraid for myself but for Edward as well. She told me I needed to realize again that it was a normal and expected way for me to feel given all I had been through. But until I accepted the fact that I was scared and could admit that it was ok to feel that way, I wouldn't be able to move past it.

Dr. Bartholomew also gave me a prescription for something to help me sleep. She said I didn't have to take it if I didn't want to, but wanted me to have it just in case. After handing me the prescription she said that at this point she just wanted me to give these things some thought and be prepared to discuss them next time. I told her I would and then made the appointment on my way out. Edward and I then left to go grab lunch and to get my medicine filled. I wasn't sure if I would use it, but like the doctor had said, just in case.

Another hour and a half later we returned to find there had been some developments while we were gone. Sitting down again in Emmett's office he filled us in.

"Let me start with the good news," Emmett said while perched on the edge of his desk. "It has been confirmed that Reynolds will be moved tomorrow. The transport team has been chosen and it is set up and ready to be carried out."

"Wow. I don't know what to say. Obviously I'm thrilled. But I didn't think they'd pull it off that fast," I replied as I sat there slightly stunned but elated by the news.

"Well it's true. So by this time tomorrow he will be on his way there. And the other good news is, we got the subpoena to search the guard's house. Sam and I are headed over there now."

"So then what's the bad news?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know.

"We didn't get the warrants for the bank accounts yet. Mathews was being his usual self and he wanted more evidence to prove Reynolds might be paying either one of them off. So Seth is on his way to Stafford now to retrieve the tape of your visit with him. Reynolds admitted to being behind the apples and there is no way he can do it without outside assistance. Judge Mathews told Seth that if the tape indeed shows Reynolds confessing, then he will happily issue the warrants. But he wants more than what we originally offered."

"Well at least he is being reasonable. He isn't outright refusing."

"Nope. So I am going to go now. Sam and I need to get that house checked out. In the mean time I need you to get on the things we talked about earlier."

"No problem I was planning to do that," I told Emmett.

"Ok, then, I will see or talk to you later and I will fill you in. Let me know if Seth gets back and gets the warrants," Emmett requested.

"Sure thing."

As we returned to my office, Edward and I both had work to do. Edward had brought some work from his office to do, and I got started on the background check for Lauren Mallory and running traces on her, Jessica's, the attorney's and the guard, Henry McMillan's passports. McMillan's came back right away. He didn't have one. At least not under his given name and at this point we had no information that would suggest an alternate identity. The other passports were clear as well. None of them had been out of the country during the time frame in question.

But I had some questions about Lauren Mallory's background check. It was also pretty solid, she came from an affluent Seattle family, attended an all girls private school and lived the good life it seemed. But that struck me as odd that her and Jessica would be having such financial difficulties, given her prominent background. I would think her family would be more than happy to help them.

"What's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Edward asked. He was sitting in the chair on the opposite side of my desk working from his laptop he'd brought with him this morning.

"Some of the details from Lauren Mallory's background baffle me a bit."

"Like what?"

"Well, she came from a wealthy family and lived a very cushy life up until a couple of years ago. So I'm confused as to why money for in vitro or adoption would be an issue for her and Jessica."

"How long have you known Jessica?" Edward asked me as he got up and walked around the other side of my desk so that he could view what I was looking at on my laptop.

"For three years. That's how long I have been here and she was already here."

"Was she involved with this Lauren woman already?"

"Yes I think they had just started dating. Why?"

"Maybe that is when she came out to her parents and they cut her off. I'm not saying it's right or that I agree with it. But it is quite possible her parents didn't approve of her lifestyle choices so they cut her off financially and maybe even from their lives."

"That's a very valid point. You're pretty good at this detective playing stuff," I teased him. "You even slightly entertaining Emmett's offer to become a permanent agent?"

"Nope," he answered without hesitation.

"Can I ask why?"

"You can ask me anything, Sweetness. I'm an open book to you," he told me as he turned and sat facing me on the edge of my desk. "And there are a couple of reasons. One is I am extremely happy with what I do. I like my job and it provides well for me. I'm not rich by any means, but I live very comfortably and if I were to leave, it would affect more than just me. I would have to consider Jasper in that decision as well. Jasper and I worked hard to build up the client base we have now and to get to the point we are with the word of mouth recommendations. In the business world it really is the best kind of advertisement you can get. And I think you already know I am very proud of the life I've chosen and I don't want to change that."

I nodded and then encouraged him to go on. "And your other reason? You said there was more than one."

"My other reason is a bit more selfish. I am looking forward to our lives becoming less complicated. If I were to stay on here as a permanent agent, that's not going to happen. I would be assigned cases and then I would be off busy all the time with crazy investigations. My sole reason for doing this now is to protect you and I have no qualms about doing it. I will keep you safe no matter what it takes. But once this case is closed and it's all over and done with, so is my stint as a federal agent. I've had the opportunity to join the bureau before. The CIA had also offered and I turned them both down."

"You never told me that before."

"Never really thought about it until today. But with my tests scores in the Army Special Forces Unit and the speed at which I completed my training, the feds were very interested in me along with a couple of other guys. One of them went into the CIA. But myself and the other guy stayed put."

"I'm very grateful you did. We might not have ever met if you hadn't."

"That is very true."

Edward stood up and then bent over to give me a quick kiss before going back to his own work. What he'd said about Lauren Mallory's family made sense. If that were indeed the case, it would explain their financial issues. We spent the next couple of hours working quietly. Around four thirty, Seth called and said that he was leaving court and had the warrants for the bank accounts and was headed to the two establishments with them. He said he expected it would take them some time to pull the records together and didn't expect to get them until tomorrow, but at least now we knew we'd have them. He also said that he had talked to Emmett already and that Emmett and Sam should be back to the office soon.

Around five twenty as Edward and I were preparing to call it a day and leave, Emmett returned and informed us that the search of the guard's house had turned up nothing except the fact that it was clear he had packed up and got the hell out of town quickly. So that was yet another dead end. I filled him in on what I had found and my thoughts on it as well. He was going to see if he could do some more snooping on Lauren's family to possibly back or refute Edward's theory that her family may have ousted her. After that Edward and I left.

It was weird though as we drove home to Edward's loft, I had the strangest feeling that something big was about to happen and it wouldn't quit nagging at me. When I told Edward about it, he said maybe it was a sign that we were about to find the lead we had been looking for, that maybe my gift was trying to tell me something. That night as I laid in his bed with my head resting on his chest, waiting for my sleeping medicine to kick in, I prayed that he was right.

**Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!**

**EA~  
**


	21. OBSESSION

**Good morning and happy Friday everyone. I hope everyone has had a great week. As always I must thank my most awesome pair of helpers, My Bella and Hope4more. If you don't subscribe to updates on my blog there is a Polyvore picture posted there and on Polyvore with their outfits for this chapter. You can also find a link to the whole Polyvore collection on my blog. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all. Get your coffee, Mountain Dew, or whatever it is that gets you going in the morning and enjoy the chapter. See ya at the bottom. ;)**

_My fantasy has turned to madness  
All my goodness has turned to badness  
My need to possess you has consumed my soul  
My life is trembling, I have no control_

_**Obsession, by Amimotion**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**July 29, 2010**_

It had been a long day that felt as if it had gone on forever. We had spent most of the day going over the clues we already had. But even with that to occupy our time, everything pertaining to the investigation felt as if it had come to a screeching halt as we waited for the banks to compile the information they'd been ordered to by the courts. Emmett and Bella had both assured me it was normal for it to take about a day or so for the financial institutions to gather all the information. I knew it was sure to be a mountain of paperwork to sort through, but if Emmett's hunch was right, money was the link and I was eager to find the clue that would tie it all together for us.

In reality even if it appeared there was nothing happening, there was stuff going on that we weren't handling. The three agents continued to keep watch on their assigned targets, and the FBI in conjunction with several area local police departments continued to investigate possible sightings of the missing prison guard. There had been sightings called in from as far north as the Canadian border and as far south as the Oregon-California border. All of them had come from the local authorities in those areas when a car closely matching the description of the one the guard owned had been spotted. And even though we were working closely with the authorities in the neighboring areas as well as the state patrol, it still made it really hard to pinpoint an area to focus on. The hunt for the guard had not yet gone public in the media, however Emmett had told us this morning that if nothing turned up soon, a picture of the guard would be released to all the major media outlets, along with a statement, in hopes that with more eyes aware of him being out there, the more likely it was of him being spotted.

By the time five pm rolled around and it was time for us to head home, I could see how much all of this was weighing on Bella and I knew she needed some sort of a distraction to take her mind off of things. I figured Emmett and Rose could use a night out too, so I sent a quick text to Emmett asking him if they would like to join us for dinner. When he replied back asking why, I explained briefly and instead of replying with another text he called me.

"Hey, man, I think that's a great idea. Where'd you have in mind?" Emmett inquired.

"How's the Space Needle sound?"

"Sounds great. Rose and I haven't been there in quite a while."

"Good. How long do you think it'll take you to get Rose and meet us there?"

"Maybe an hour. I'll call her now so she can be ready and then we can meet up with you guys. Does that work?" he asked.

"Yeah that should be perfect," I replied smiling as Bella watched me with curiosity, no doubt wondering who I was talking to. "I just need to run by my office and check on a few things and then we'll be ready."

"Ok we'll see ya at the Needle in an hour."

I hung up the phone and Bella immediately questioned me. "What was that all about, Mr. Cullen?"

I got up from where I had been sitting in front of her desk and walked around to her. I took her hand in mine and tugged her up out of her chair and into my arms. "I thought you could use a break from all of this and a night out for dinner would be a good distraction for you. You need to give yourself and your mind a break," I told her while tucking her hair back behind her ear. "I know we just had the weekend in Vancouver, but with all that has happened since we've been home, it has taken a toll on you. So if you are agreeable, I would like to take you out for the evening and give you something else to focus on. Emmett and Rose are going to join us."

She nodded and rewarded me with a sweet smile that told me she would enjoy it just as much as I thought she would. "You know," she said slipping her arms around me. Her hands slid into the back pockets of my pants and gripped my ass, immediately causing the front of my pants to be extremely tight. "There are other ways to distract me too." She looked up at me through her eyelashes while biting her bottom lip, knowing exactly what she was doing to me. It still amazed me how easily my body responded to her, but I loved every minute of it.

Burying my face against her neck and gently biting on her ear, I whispered to her, "Mmm, Sweetness, if you want me to take you home and worship your body all night, I'm all for it. But you get to be the one to call Emmett and Rose and tell them of our change in plans." It wasn't that I wouldn't be happy doing exactly as she suggested, but I felt as if she needed more than that right now. And we could still make love once we got home tonight. _I'd make love to her until she couldn't walk if she wanted._

I felt a shiver run through her body before she composed herself and smacked me on the chest playfully. She was completely sexy and adorable at the same time as she pouted and said, "Fine. Let's go to dinner. But maybe we could squeeze in the other later?"

"You have my word, Sweetness." The smile she gave me this time far out shown the one from just a few minutes ago. _Damn she was irresistibly gorgeous._

After a brief stop at my office so I could sign off on a couple of alarm install bids that Mike and Paul had done, we were on our way to the Space Needle's Sky City restaurant.

Once we arrived, we quickly found Emmett and Rose waiting for us by the elevator that took the restaurant's patrons to the top. We chatted lightly about the things that came into view on the ride up. After a short wait, we were seated at a table next to the window for the best view of the city and surrounding scenery as the restaurant did its three hundred and sixty degree rotation.

After placing our orders for dinner the four of us chatted about everything we could think of except for the case. Emmett and Rose told the story about how they met the summer after high school graduation when he'd taken his car to her father's automotive shop for a repair. He said he'd been completely dazzled by her from the first moment he saw her. Rose filled in with little details about how Emmett had at first assumed she was the receptionist or at the most the errand girl who ran to pick up parts that had been ordered. But she had quickly put him in his place letting him know she was a mechanic and he'd do well to remember it if he ever wanted his car to run well again. They went on to tell us how Rose had worked at her father's shop all through college while working on getting her business degree. After graduating she became more or less a partner to her father and a few years ago when he passed, she took over running the shop entirely.

"I bet you've taken a lot of shit over the years, being a woman in your profession," I told her.

"Yeah I have, but most men are smart enough to either accept me for who I am and what I know in the industry, or stay away completely," she replied.

Emmett was quick to jump in and add, "There are a few assholes who try to challenge her and treat her like a dumb blond and let me tell you, you ain't seen shit until you've seen my Rosie put one of those fuckers in their place. She is fierce and a force to be reckoned with if you try to mess with her or undermine her capabilities."

"You would know," she teased while looking at her husband with nothing more than love and adoration in her eyes.

"Learn the hard way?" I asked him with a teasing smirk on my face.

"Something like that." he chuckled.

"So tell us how the two of you met," Rose urged. "I mean I know the basics. You were over in Italy to keep an eye on Bella, but just how did the two of you run into each other?"

Bella and I took turns filling them in on the details of our first couple of encounters on the beach and how that led to me getting up the nerve to ask her out to dinner, and how things changed from there.

"Sounds like you were both quite smitten right away," Rose declared.

"I think it's pretty safe to say we were," I said while looking over at Bella, loving the rosy hue of pink that tinted her cheeks.

Lifting her glass of wine to take a sip, Rose then said, "Well I hope you know how lucky you are to have won her heart. She doesn't give it away easily."

"I do," I said softly as I leaned over and kissed Bella on the cheek.

We finished our dinner and then for dessert each couple shared an order of Tiramisu. After dessert Emmett and I grumbled back and forth over who was going to pay for dinner. I finally got him to let me do it by telling him that I would use it as a business expense and he could pay next time. Once the bill was settled, Bella and Rose insisted we take a trip up to the observation deck.

The sun had recently set so while the sky was beginning to darken, it still had a bit of a soft glow to it, giving it almost that early morning hazy blue color.

"It's really amazing how much you can see from up here," Bella sighed as she held onto my arm and rested her head against it.

I pulled my arm from her grasp and wrapped it around her, holding her close to me as the deck made its circle, showing us all the sights of downtown Seattle and the surrounding area. The scenery really was amazing. From our current position we could see Puget Sound. The waters looked almost black in the lack of sunlight and the buildings all around us were tiny in size. They looked like something in one of those miniature disaster movie sets that they build only to destroy. As the deck continued to turn, we saw Mount Rainier, the Cascade Mountains and the Olympic Mountains. Even this time of the year, Mount Rainier was still snowcapped at the upper elevations. We could also see planes flying in and out of Sea Tac, as well as the football and baseball stadiums. There wasn't much we couldn't see.

Emmett and Rose had walked off a short distance from us to allow them and us some privacy, but our quiet moment was suddenly interrupted by a loud boom of thunder and lightning jutting across the sky. By the time we reached the elevator to head back down, it was already pouring.

Watching the storm on the way down in the elevator was pretty cool. Seeing the flashes of lightning race across the sky, lighting it up, and the water running down the glass walls of the elevator. Once we reached the bottom, Emmett suggested he go get his suburban while I waited with Bella and Rose and that he'd drop Bella and me off at my car.

As soon as Emmett pulled up behind my mustang Bella jumped out, giggling as she ran through the rain. I smiled at the sound of it; that laugh told me tonight had been a very good idea and she was in a much better mood and more relaxed.

Driving home Bella had been incredibly frisky. She had driven me mad running her hand up and down my thigh but stopping just short of where I wanted her to touch me. However by the time we'd made it home and I had showered, she was sound asleep. No matter how much I wanted to make love to her, I knew she hadn't slept well lately so I crawled in next to her and fell asleep with her in my arms listening to the sound of the rain outside. There was no place in the world I'd rather be.

**_July 30, 2010_**

I woke to the incredible sensation of Bella's backside grinding against my morning arousal. It was making it extremely difficult to not give in to my urge to wake her up. It was still too early to think about the day that lay ahead of us. I wanted to keep her here wrapped in our little cocoon of peace for as long as I could. This left me torn between laying here holding her and letting her sleep, or encouraging whatever it was she was dreaming about that caused her to grind against me.

Of course, the last thing I wanted to do was go back to sleep, especially after getting so worked up last night. She had slept really well throughout the night so I told myself since Bella was actually having a good dream, maybe I should reward her for it. Make this good dream a reality for her. I brushed her hair aside and kissed the creamy soft skin of her shoulder exposed by the t-shirt of mine she was sleeping in. I loved seeing her in my clothes and this shirt she had on now was a favorite of mine for her to wear. It was one of my training t-shirts from the Army boot camp and it had my last name and unit number on the back. It thrilled me to no end to see my name on her, like she was marked as mine. She was the only woman I had ever dated that I had felt so possessive over. What thrilled me equally was it was one of Bella's favorites too, which made me think she liked my name on her just as much as I did.

She moaned softly in her sleep and I wondered again what she was dreaming about. She certainly wasn't in the middle of one of the nightmares she'd been having off and on because of Reynolds. It seemed last night's dinner really had taken her mind off of the case.

Over the past few days as more and more clues began to surface with the case, I began to think about how life after it was closed was going to be. I had gotten so used to waking up next to her every morning and I didn't want to go back to sleeping in separate beds for even one night, let alone living in separate houses. With what had recently taken place in her home and the memories that would forever be associated with it, I had begun to wonder if she would be able to live there again. And that thought along with the fact that I never wanted to go to sleep or wakeup without her again had me wanting to ask her to move in with me. But I didn't want her to do it simply because she didn't want to go back to her house. I wanted it to be about us and our love and our desire to be together.

Actually ever since I had slipped her diamond necklace around her neck last Saturday night, I'd been having thoughts of slipping a diamond on another part of her, specifically the ring finger of her left hand. Seeing my name on her made me think about it even more. I wanted more than to just see my name on her; I wanted it to be her name too. But as much as I wanted that, I knew it was still a bit too soon for a proposal. At least one that involved name changing. However one that involved address changing would be a good place to start. We needed time to be able to do all of the things normal couples did. Go out for dinner, take walks in the park, go to the movies or hang out with our friends. We needed to just experience a normal life for a while before I popped the big question. So as I nibbled on the spot just below her ear and slid my hand under her shirt and around the front to cup her breast, I made up my mind that I would ask her to move in with me.

Bella woke up quickly under my wandering hands and persistent lips. She rolled over and whispered "good morning" while hitching her leg up over my hip. When she used that same leg to pull me closer to her I knew she was game for some early morning love making, and I leaned over her and whispered, "Good morning, Sweetness."

She quickly replied, "Good morning indeed." She reached up and knotted her fingers in the short hair at the nape of my neck and pulled me to her, closing the distance between us and kissing me. Clothes were quickly removed. Bella's body was warm and inviting as we continued to caress and explore every inch of each other. It was like we were parched and dying from a thirst that could only be quenched by one another. Her mouth was soft and warm as she kissed along my neck and up my jaw until she found my lips again. As we continued to kiss I rolled her on her back and positioned myself between her thighs.

I broke the kiss and peppered light kisses all over her face and neck. "I love you, Bella," I whispered.

Bella pulled me down to her again and repeated the same words back to me as I slipped inside her. Her body rippled underneath me as we moved in unison matching each other move for move until we reached our peak together. It was the perfect way to start the day.

A little while later after we'd showered, I watched as she got dressed. It was the last Friday of the month, which she deemed was casual Friday. For a small donation to a charity her office had agreed to support, the agents could wear casual attire to work. Bella was wearing jeans and a short sleeved white shirt which clung perfectly to her luscious curves. She also had a black casual blazer laid out to wear with it and since it was raining heavily and cool out today she opted for a pair of boots instead of her usual dress shoes. I shook my head in awe at how sexy she could look in absolutely anything.

I decided there was no time like the present to ask her to move in with me. I walked up behind her and snaked my arms around her waist as she stood in front of the mirror fixing her hair.

"Help me with my necklace?" she asked holding her hand up with the piece of jewelry in it. She wasn't one for expensive gifts so it made me very happy to see her wear it all the time.

After I finished putting the necklace on her, I kissed her neck and then said to her, "Come sit on the bed with me for a minute. There's something I want to talk to you about. Something I want you to think about."

While I waited for her response, I nuzzled my face against her neck, inhaling her scent. She had taken to using the tropical scented body wash and shampoo that had been in my bathroom all along and I loved how it smelled on her.

"Ok," she giggled as I pulled her backwards with me towards the bed.

She started to sit next to me, but instead I held on to her so she'd sit on my lap. "What's this all about?" she asked tapping the tip of my nose with her finger. She was in an extremely good mood and I loved seeing her so carefree and happy. I wanted to think the way our morning started had a little bit to do with it, along with getting some restful sleep.

I took in a long pull of air, let it back out and then dug right into what I wanted to say. "Would you agree that things are finally happening with the case and that we are very close to finding out who is assisting Reynolds?"

"Yeah, I would, why?" she asked with a somewhat puzzled look on her face.

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about what happens when it's all said and done and I am no longer required to be with you all day every day."

"Ok," she said, dragging the word out slowly.

"I've grown quite attached to going to sleep and waking up next to you every day. And to be quite honest with you I don't want that to change once the case is closed."

"I like sleeping next to you too," she whispered while running her fingers through my hair.

"That's good. It gives me reason to believe you will be receptive to my idea," I told her while charming her a little with the smile I knew she loved.

"And just what is this idea of yours, Mr. Cullen?" I knew she had busted me on the smile when her tone had a hint of sarcasm to it and she had a smirk of her own playing on her lips.

"I want you to move in with me permanently." She started to say something but I shushed her and asked her to let me finish first. "I know your life has been turned upside down for weeks now and I know you are looking forward to living a normal life again. Coming and going as you please, driving yourself places again and spending time with your friends. And I want all of those things for you too. But I also want you here with me, or if you really want, I'll move in with you. All that matters to me is that we are together. You don't have to decide right now. I know it's a big step, and like I said, I don't expect you to answer me yet, you can take all the time you need. But would you promise me you'll think about it?"

"I will, I promise," she said resting her head on my shoulder and letting out a long sigh.

Afraid that something was wrong, or that maybe she was feeling pressured, I asked, "You ok? Did I say something wrong?"

"No, not at all," she declared while sitting up and looking me right in the eye so I could see she meant what she said. And that was exactly what I saw.

"Then what's wrong? Talk to me, Sweetness."

"Nothing's wrong. Not really. I…I love all of the things about us living together too. And I can't imagine how I would feel going back to living alone or sleeping without you. And like you, I want us to be together. But I don't want to say yes just yet. I need for this case to be closed and not hanging over my head anymore. I want to be free to make the choice and not feel like I have an axe hanging over me forcing me to choose, so that when I make that choice I know I am doing it because it's really what I want. I promised you I would think about it and I will."

"That's all I'm asking."

I gave her a quick peck on the lips and she got up. Walking across the room, she put on her holster and placed her gun in it before grabbing her jacket, throwing it on and rolling the sleeves up a couple of times. After that we made our way downstairs to have breakfast. While we ate we discussed all the information that had come to light this week as well as how we hoped that the bank had the records ready to be picked up today so that we could begin to dig through them. After we finished eating, we both cleaned up the small mess and then left.

When we entered the office it seemed everyone was already there and already busy going about their day's work. I couldn't help tensing a bit as we walked past Jacob. I had had enough of him taunting and making advances at Bella and if I had another confrontation with him I didn't know if I'd be able to stop before I beat the shit out of him. Fortunately he seemed pretty engrossed in whatever it was he was working on.

On our way to Bella's office we walked past the conference room and saw Seth and Sam lifting boxes off a wheeled cart onto the huge table that was in the room. Bella pulled the door open and I held it for her and followed behind her.

"Is this the bank records?" she asked Seth when he looked up and made eye contact with her.

"Yes, ma'am it sure is. You ready to dig in?"

"You know I am," Bella replied with a huge smile. I could tell she really was excited to get started. She set her purse and laptop bag down on an extra chair and then sat down after rolling her sleeves up a bit further than they already were.

A few minutes later, Emmett showed up with juice, coffee and donuts for us all. After indulging in the sweet treat and a cup of coffee, the five of us dug into the bank files.

The court order demanded the bank give us records covering the last year and they had even been nice enough to label the boxes for us. So that we didn't get information misplaced and mixed up we started with one person at a time. Since at the moment Jessica Stanley was at the top of the list, we began with her.

As we all began going through the mounds of paper work, Emmett reminded us all that we were most likely looking for deposits of several thousands of dollars but that the amounts were also under the ten thousand dollar mark because amounts larger than that had to be reported to the government.

The minutes and then hours seemed to tick by. I had never gone through so many papers in all my life. So far we had found one large deposit but it was traced back to a loan coming from the bank, which made it legitimate.

Before we knew it, it was nearly one in the afternoon. Emmett ordered a couple of pizzas for us to eat so that we could keep working. While we were eating lunch, Bella asked the question that I was sure had been weighing on her mind all morning.

"Hey, Em?" Bella called, gaining his attention.

"Yeah, Bella. Something on your mind?" he returned with a slight smile as he took a huge bite of pizza. I was confident he already knew what she was going to ask. In fact like me he was probably surprised she had waited this long.

"Um…you have any idea what time they are transferring Reynolds?" she asked tentatively. I knew she wouldn't be completely relieved until she knew for certain that he was in California and securely locked away on death row.

"No…well not the specifics anyway. For security purposes all they give us is a date the transfer will take place on. That could mean anytime from twelve am this morning until eleven fifty-nine tonight. He could be already on his way or still sitting at Stafford waiting to go. And given the fact it's about a twelve hour drive from Olympia to San Francisco, he may not actually arrive at San Quentin until early tomorrow morning," Emmett explained.

"Oh. Ok," Bella replied. I could tell that she was disappointed to not have a concrete time that she could look forward to as a source of relief knowing he was gone and out of the state of Washington.

"Hey, it's ok. I understand," Emmett told her. "And even though we don't know when he will be leaving, they will notify us once he is there. I promise to let you know as soon as I do."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a little better," Bella admitted.

After we ate, we got back to going though the bank files. We had been working for about an hour when someone knocked on the conference room door.

"Come in," Emmett called. Bella's co worker Tyler entered the room. "Whatcha need, Crowley?"

"Erikson is on line three for you, McCarty," he answered. "Says it's urgent."

"I'll be right back," Emmett said as he got up and left the room.

A few minutes later, he came back. "Seth, Sam." The two men looked up at their boss immediately. "We have a situation that needs to be checked out down near Turnwater. A state trooper found an abandoned car off of I-5. The plates were run and it came back registered to Henry McMillian."

"That's our missing guard," Bella stated.

"Sure is and Turnwater is just south of Olympia. That's why I need Seth and Sam to head down there with forensics to check it out and make sure it is handled properly. I also think it's time to go public with McMillian's description and see if we can get this scumbag found and brought in. If he was stupid enough to remain so close to Olympia and Stafford, we need to get his ass hauled in now."

Seth and Sam showed Emmett where they were in the section of information they were going through and then left right away. Emmett followed them out to speak to Erikson briefly and left Bella and I in the conference room to continue sifting through the documents.

As soon as the door was closed behind Emmett, Bella got up and walked over to the large window that looked out over downtown Seattle. I gave her a minute and then got up and quietly strode up behind her. She was staring out the window and sliding the diamond pendant of her necklace back and forth on its chain. I loved this woman with my whole heart and it pained me to see her having to go through this ordeal. I knew that if she hadn't been caught up in it, I might have never met her, but given the fact that we lived in the same city and we both knew Emmett, I wanted to believe that we would have met somehow. Because I believed that we were meant for each other. I made a mental note to talk to Emmett about giving her some time off after this was all settled so I could take her away, even if it were just for a few days, so she could decompress and put it all behind her.

I encased her in my arms and kissed the top of her head. "Not the same as the view we had at the Needle last night is it?"

"No, not even close," she sighed as she turned in my arms and buried her head against my chest.

"Hey," I whispered, using my finger that I'd placed under her chin to encourage her to look up at me. When she did, I could see so many emotions swimming in her eyes. Hope, fear, stress, worry and fatigue; it was all there.

She opened and closed her mouth a few times but nothing came out. "Shhh, Sweetness," I soothed her and held her tighter. "It's going to be ok. We are going to get this figured out. I promise I am going to be next to you every step of the way until this is over."

She nodded and I felt her body relax against mine. We stood there quietly for a few minutes when Bella's cell phone rang.

I watched as she made her was across the room and dug the phone out of her jacket pocket from where it was hanging on the back of her chair when she had taken it off earlier.

"Hello," she answered. "Oh hi, Dr. Bartholomew," and then a minute later said, "Um sure," as she turned and glanced at the clock on the wall behind her. "Ok, see you in a few."

She slid the phone back into her jacket pocket. "That was Dr. Bartholomew. She's had something come up and has to leave her office early today and asked me to come down for my session now."

"Ok, then let's go. I'll walk ya down."

She grabbed her gun and holster off the back of her chair and slid it back on along with her jacket that she had also removed earlier to be more comfortable as we worked.

We stopped by Emmett's office long enough to let him know where we were going and I told him that I'd be right back. He nodded since he was on the phone and we left. As we walked through the office, I noticed Jacob was the only one left there. Everyone else must have been out working on their cases or getting lunch.

With it being so close to lunch time, there was a lot of activity in the building and because of the long line waiting for the elevator, Bella and I opted to take the steps.

Once we reached the waiting room of the doctor's office, I pulled her to me and planted a searing kiss on her lips. "I love you. I'll see ya in an hour," I told her.

"I love you too," she replied and started to lean into me for another kiss, when we were interrupted by the sound of Dr. Bartholomew clearing her throat.

Bella blushed when I gave her a quick kiss anyways before I let go of her. I reiterated that I'd be back in an hour and she nodded and then disappeared behind the door to the doctor's private office.

The elevator was less crowded this time so I took it back up. When I got there Emmett was already back in the conference room digging for clues. I grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge in the room and sat down to dig back in myself.

About a half an hour had gone by when Emmett's cell phone rang. I listened to him as I continued going through the April bank statement of Reynolds' attorney, Marcus Volturi.

"Good news," he said as he hung up. "They found a small box with what they believe is the missing tape from the prison in the car. It appears to be damaged so we may not be able to get anything off of it. But I am sure our experts will do all they can."

"Sounds like he may have left the car behind in a hurry."

"Yeah it does. Seth said they'd be back in a couple of hours."

"Ok," I replied as my cell phone began to ring with Lady in Red playing.

Emmett chuckled and said, "I know who that is."

I smirked and nodded before answering the call. "Hey, Sweetness," I said to her.

"Hey there yourself, handsome." I could almost hear the smile in her voice. "Look my appointment was cut short today due to the doc needing to leave. So I am on my way back up as soon as I use the restroom."

"Wait there. I'll be right down to walk you back up."

"Edward, that's crazy. It's stupid for you to come down here just to turn around and go right back up."

"Damn it, Bella. I'm coming down there. You are not supposed to be alone. We don't know who the nut-job is helping Reynolds yet. Until then you are stuck with me twenty-four-seven."

"Look, I'm already in the bathroom and the stalls are full which means there are other women in here. I don't want to argue with you while they can hear. Besides, we are in a federal building with armed guards everywhere. I will be up there before you know it," she argued.

"I understand all that. But I am just trying to do my job and keep you safe," I told her.

"I know and I love you for it." There was a pause and then she said, "Gotta go, empty stall and I really have to go. Love you, see you in a minute." The line went dead and I filled Emmett in.

I went back to what I was doing while waiting for Bella. It seemed like no more than a few minutes had gone by when I came upon a large transaction in the attorney's account.

"Emmett, what month did Bella start getting harassed?" I asked.

"April I think. Why?"

"Look at this," I said as I got up and walked around the table to him.

'Whatcha got?" he asked.

I placed the statement on the table and showed him where on April eleventh there was a deposit made in Marcus Volturi's bank account in the amount of nine thousand, seven hundred and fifty dollars and then three days later there was a withdrawal of the same amount. We looked through the additional documents for that month and found that a photo copy of a check matching the amount on the same day from a James Wolfe's bank account.

"Wolfe?" I asked. That name was nagging at me for some reason. "You think Reynolds had an alias?"

"Anything's possible. It looks as if the withdrawal of the same amount was a direct transfer to another account so let's see if we have the paperwork showing us where it went."

As we looked for the papers, I glanced at my watch thinking Bella should be walking through the door any second.

"Here it is," Emmett stated, holding up the document. "It went to an account belonging to one William Black."

"William Black? First the name Wolfe strikes a chord in me and now Black. What am I missing here, Em?"

Before he could say anything, it hit me. "Holy fuck," I exclaimed.

"What?" Emmett asked.

"Isn't Jake's last name Black?"

"Yes," he answered and then the connection hit him. "Oh fuck."

"Emmett, Tuesday when Bella and I got here, he made some wise ass crack to her about the big bad wolf messing with her again."

"Where is she?"

"On her way up here."

"Ok, I want you to calmly but quickly walk through the office without saying a fucking word to him and go to Bella. Get her out of here. You got it? I mean it Edward, not a word or even a glance. I don't want him to be tipped off. I will handle him. I'm gonna call Erikson and get him in here for backup and then I will go from there."

"Fuck," I muttered.

Worried and in a hurry to get to Bella, as I was heading out the door to the conference room, I pulled my gun out of my holster and released the safety. I had barely heard the last few words Emmett said, in my rush to get to Bella. But when I entered the front office space it was empty except for Tyler Crowley. I started to tell Tyler to go tell Emmett, but Emmett was right behind me.

"He's gone," I bellowed to him. I could see the blood drain from his face with the news.

"Go! Go get to Bella!" he growled.

I bolted out the door and heard Emmett barking orders to Tyler on my way out. I stopped at the elevator and dialed her phone, not wanting to miss her if she was about to get off the elevator. But it opened with no Bella in sight the same time her phone went to voicemail. There were still a few people waiting to go up so I took the stairs again, running down them two and three at a time. Once I reached the floor she was on, I ran down the hall to the ladies restroom.

Not caring who might be inside I flung the door open while calling out loudly, "Bella, you still in here?"

But I was met with nothing but an empty restroom. The doors to all the stalls were hanging open with no Bella in sight. I felt a crushing pain in my chest as my breath caught in my lungs_. Oh God please let her be somewhere in this building,_ I thought, when I heard a chirp coming from my left.

There sitting on the bathroom vanity was Bella's phone chirping and her gun right next to it. As I turned to reach for her phone to see if she had somehow left me a message, a clue as to where she was going, I was heartbroken to see it was just a missed call alert. I looked up at the mirror. What I saw smeared in soap across it instantly made my blood boil.

"Fuck," I bellowed as I hurled my fist at the words, causing huge cracks to splinter out from where my fist had landed in the middle of the mirror. That fucker had taken my Sweetness. I leaned forward resting my hands on the vanity, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to get the images of him taking her out of my head and knowing I needed to compose myself. I needed to get a grip so I could go get her back.

I heard the door open and spun, hoping I'd see the love of my life walking through the door, but instead I was met with the angry face of Emmett. "Didn't find him did you?" I seethed.

"No. The building has been put on lock down. If he is still here he won't get out."

"He's gone and he's fucking got her, Emmett. If he harms one hair on her head, I'll kill him. He won't live to see another minute when I find him if she isn't in the same pristine condition she was in when I last saw her." I could feel my temper flaring again.

"Are you sure you didn't miss her on the way down? Maybe she was in one of the other elevators."

"Look at the fucking mirror, Em."

As he did, I could see the realization on his face. He knew there was no doubt as to where Bella was. As if seeing them wasn't enough, he read the words out loud. "Who's afraid of the big bad wolf now?"

**Ok, maybe I should run for cover now. Hold on tight, we are heading for a bit of a bumpy ride. Loved it, hated it? Let me know. **

**Until next time, thanks for reading,**

**~EA~**


	22. Time for Miracles

**TGIF! What a week its been. Crazy busy with lots of snow to boot. I hope you all like this chapter, I think I tormented Hope4more and My-Bella with it. So they need extra thanks this time around. **

**Before we dig in, I want to remind everyone this is fiction and at times we take a bit of creative license to make the story more exciting or flow better. So with that said, I have tried to keep things as real as possible. I've picked the brains of My-Bella and Hope4more, and researched as much as I can in effort to keep it real. But remember I am not an FBI agent and therefore do not know how they would truly do things. **

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all. **

**Now lets see how Edward is dealing with his Sweetness being gone.**

_I just wanna be with you  
'Cause living is so hard to do  
When all I know is trapped inside your eyes_

_The future I cannot forget  
This aching heart ain't broken yet  
Oh God I wish I could make you see  
'Cause I know this flame isn't dying  
So nothing can stop me from trying_

_Baby you know that  
Maybe it's time for miracles  
'Cause I ain't giving up on love  
You know that  
Maybe it's time for miracles  
'Cause I ain't giving up on love  
No I ain't giving up on us_

_**Time for Miracles by Adam Lambert**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**July 30, 2010**_

I tensed briefly when I felt a huge hand clamp down on my shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. Luckily I wasn't so consumed by the anger coursing through me that I acted out in haste and started taking swings at whoever it was touching me. Letting out a long breath, I glanced to the left over my shoulder and saw that it was Emmett.

"Hey," he said giving my shoulder another squeeze. "Come on. Forensics is here to comb this place over and we've got to get our shit together and find Bella. I need you with a clear head. Can you do that?"

I nodded and then closed my eyes as I shook my head a few times, trying to clear the rage induced haze of red I was looking through every time I opened my eyes to see the shattered mirror and smeared words in front of me. Taking in a deep breath I turned to go with Emmett back upstairs, willing myself to calm down and focus so I could get Bella back. And come hell or high water, if it was the last fucking thing I ever did, no matter what I had to do to make it happen, I _would_ get her back. Jacob Black would be lucky if he lived long enough to take another breath once I got my hands on his mangy ass. He would regret ever entertaining the notion of taking my Sweetness from me.

Neither Emmett nor I said anything as we rode the elevator back up to the thirty-fifth floor. We made the short walk down the hall to where the bureau's series of offices were located and as soon as we opened the door, we were met by Tyler sitting at his desk. He appeared to be going through more bank files and other records. Since he had been previously cleared he must have been given the task of sorting through the mounds of paper work and tracking the paper trial now that we were focusing on Bella being taken.

We continued to the conference room and stepping inside we were greeted by Emmett's boss Erikson, who was on the phone. Sam was also there, typing away furiously on one of two laptops he had set up in front of him.

Erikson held up his hand and waved Emmett and I over to where he was. Just before we reached him he ended the call and began to speak, "I know the two of you are extremely close to Agent Swan." His eyes moved back and forth over Emmett and me. "I am trusting that you can act in a professional capacity in order to ensure her safe return. If you don't think you can do that I need to know now."

Emmett and I both let him know that we were fine and ready to do what was needed.

"Good," Erikson said. "Now I just got off the phone with Seth. He has obtained the warrants we need to search into every aspect of Jacob Black's life as well as his father's home and bank accounts. Seth will not take part in the actual search of these premises due to his relationship to Black, however when we send someone to search Black's father's house Seth will accompany them to try to keep William Black calm. It has been brought to our attention that William Black is in a wheel chair and in poor health so we do not want to bring any undue stress upon him if he is not involved. Seth will assist in the questioning, but it will be overseen by the other agent. I think as long as everything is done by the book, we won't have any issues. I want to reiterate, it's not Seth's ability in question, but his relationship to the suspect that puts us in a sticky spot as far as how much he can do. We are working to clear Jessica since it now seems she is not our target anymore. But until I am absolutely certain of her, I won't risk bringing her in to help no matter how much we need the man power. The extra agents that were sent up from San Francisco are still on her tail."

"So you think Black used his father's bank account to try and hide his own trail?" I asked.

"Yes. That is what we are going with for now. Seth has informed me that from what his mother last told him about his uncle's health, he is far too ill for him to have been a part of this charade. Seth also said his mother was under the impression that Jacob was in charge of all his father's affairs and had access to everything."

"Ok, we have the warrants for Black's home and car, his father's home, and what else?" Emmett asked trying to assess what we had going on and what still needed to be done.

"Sam, how's that trace of Black's cell phone coming?" Erikson called to him.

"His home and cell records are printing right now and I have a program running a search to pinpoint the most frequent incoming and outgoing numbers. We'll start with identifying the source of those and go from there," Sam informed him.

"Good, quick but thorough," Erikson replied. Sam nodded and returned his focus to the computers in front of him.

"Look," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose and trying to remained focused. Using my hand to point at all the stuff going on in the room I asked, "I get that you have to have all this information to nail Black's balls to the wall, but what about finding Bella? What about that damn ring she was wearing? Can't we pinpoint where she is now so we can go get her?"

I couldn't help wondering what was the fucking point to her wearing the damn thing if they weren't going to use it to track her down. The longer she was gone the further away he could get with her and the more likely it was of him harming her. Just the thought of him touching one hair on her head made my blood boil again and I had to clinch my fist to keep my cool and hold back my desire to hit something.

"Software is running, Cullen," Sam said as he tapped a few keys on the second laptop he had in front of him. "He must be taking her out of the area. The software is having a hard time trying to pinpoint exactly where she is. All I keep getting are little blips here and there. The best I can tell right now is they have gone south."

"What do you mean fucking blips? You designed that fucking thing and now you're telling me you can't track it?" I growled as I nearly lunged across the table at him.

"First of all, I didn't design it. I simply placed a readymade tracking chip into the ring she is wearing. You have to give the system time to work and hone in on her. It will work," Sam said confidently. "The only way we will have an issue is if he takes her out of the mile range I set it up for," Sam then confessed.

"How far is that?" Emmett asked.

"About a fifty mile radius. The grid range I set up covers the city and some of the local metropolitan area surrounding it. It seemed like a good distance given the fact we never expected her to be kidnapped, plus we always figured she'd have her phone as backup. It was set up for tracking her locally in case we were all out hunting down the accomplice and we got separated, or if we had to use her as bait. Not for her to be kidnapped."

"Use her as bait…what the fu—" I felt Emmett's huge bear claw of a hand on my shoulder once again in an effort to calm me. I couldn't even form the words completely let alone comprehend that they'd put her in that position. I looked at Emmett and was unable to stop myself from asking, "Did you know about this shit? About the possibility of using her as fucking bait?"

"No," Emmett practically growled as his eyes wandered to Erikson. I nodded my head letting him know I believed him. I didn't want to think that he may have, but given the fact that he had known long before Bella did of her resemblance to Reynolds' victims, I needed to be absolutely certain.

Before either Emmett or I could say anything else on the matter, Erikson jumped in saying, "We've got APBs out on them both along with an alert posted and being run continuously by all the major television stations in the area locally and also on CNN and MSNBC nationally. We've given them a picture of them both and the warning that Black is armed and dangerous. A toll free anonymous tip line has also been set up for anyone thinking they have spotted them to be able to call into immediately."

"How much longer before the building search is done?" Emmett asked.

As if right on cue, there was a knock on the door. "Enter," Erikson called.

Tyler entered the conference room which had now become command central, accompanied by two members of the SWAT team. "Sir, this is Johnson and Romero from the SWAT team. They have some information for you," Tyler said as he led them over to where we were and then left to go back to what he was doing.

Introductions were made to all of us as Sam came over to join us in getting the information. The two men explained the search on the building was complete and it was certain that neither Black nor Bella were anywhere inside. They also informed us that the footage from the security cameras had been retrieved. They also told us that while the building was no longer on lockdown, it was in a heightened state of security. There were armed SWAT team members at all the entrances and no one without proper cause and identification would be allowed in the building. Erikson then thanked them both for their assistance and they left.

Next Erikson sent Sam to the video room to retrieve a copy of the footage that had been requested. He wasn't gone long and we all gathered around him to get a good view. Once he inserted the disk into his computer he played the footage from the parking garage first. We wanted to see if we could get an ID on the car he had left in. The FBI had records of their agent's license plate numbers but there was no guarantee he had used the same vehicle. And even though he would likely at some point change cars, if we were able to locate the first one it would keep us on his trail. It wasn't long before we saw Bella and Black come into view.

I wanted to reach through the screen and rip his fucking head off for the tight hold he clearly had on her left arm. For touching her period. At one point she pulled on her arm, saying something to him with a completely pissed off expression on her face. He stopped, barking something back at her. She argued with him briefly and then he tugged on her arm, practically dragging her along in the process.

_The bastard was going to pay, _I vowed to myself.

As Sam replayed it for us to see a second time, I noticed Bella doing something with her right hand when they stopped. She had her hand behind her back and was moving it around in what appeared to be a repeat of the same pattern until the very end. But the video moved so fast I couldn't be sure.

"Stop it for a minute. Now rewind it just a bit…yeah right there, just before they pause," I told Sam when he reached the section of footage I wanted to view again.

He did as I asked when I pointed out the area where I wanted him to highlight.

"Did you see that? That movement of her right hand?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I did," Sam replied.

"Play it again in slow motion," I requested.

He nodded and then zoned in on her hand and played the footage frame by frame.

"You see that right there?" I asked as I pointed to the screen. "Her hand is moving like she is trying to give us some sort of signal."

"Show it again and freeze after each time her hand moves," I told Sam and watched as he enlarged the shot of her hand and played the video slow enough for us to be able to clearly make out what Bella was doing.

"She's using FBI tactical signs," Sam stated. "Well at least the first part is," he then said glancing at me quickly.

He pulled up the image of each sign she made into its own window on the computer screen and enlarged it so everyone could see exactly what Sam and I were talking about. It was only the last sign she gave that I was aware of what it meant.

"What do they mean?" I asked.

"The first one means ok. I would assume she is trying to tell us that she is ok," Sam said.

"And the second?"

"Trouble or help. Either in this case means about the same thing. She wants to let us know that she's in trouble and needs help. And then she repeats the ok sign, I would imagine to make sure we know that even though she needs help she is ok. And then I think we are all well aware of what the last one is and who it's for," Sam snickered lightly and looked over at me once again.

After the second ok signal Bella held up the three fingers that formed the hand sign for "I love you". My girl was brilliant. I was convinced she argued with Jacob exactly when she did knowing they would be in the camera's range and she could send us this brief message. In that moment, seeing her sign to me, I felt the anger that had been surging through me since the second I realized she was gone lesson tremendously. The fact that she was in the frame of mind to think to send me my own sign told me several things. One, she was confident that I'd see this video. She knew I'd be working with Emmett and everyone else to do everything I could to get her back. Two, it showed me just how strong and brave she was. The confidence she had in us spoke volumes to me and it strengthened my resolve further to find her as fast as possible and bring her home. I'd move heaven and hell to get to her. There was nothing on this earth that would stop me short of death itself.

We next moved on to look at the footage from the restroom. The camera was positioned so that you had a clear view of the area in which the sinks and mirror were located. You could also see the front of the doors to the restroom stalls. You couldn't see into them at all and there was no view over the door allowing whoever was using it complete privacy. But you could tell if the door was open or shut.

We watched and caught a glimpse of Jacob Black's reflection in the mirror as he entered the restroom. The footage had to be slowed down and watched a couple of times due to the camera angle before we were sure it was him. The time stamp on the video indicated it was two-thirty-three and Sam said that the video from the hall camera outside the restroom would verify it was him and the time. The time meant Black had gone down to the restroom immediately after I had returned from walking Bella down to her appointment. I wasn't sure how he knew she would go in there, my guess was it was just a hunch, a chance he was taking given the fact that the one up here was still out of order_. You'd think the Feds would be more efficient at getting that shit fixed, _I thought.

He came into clear view as he walked over and went into all but the one of the six stalls and shut the doors to them and then slid out from under the bottom of the doors, leaving it locked and giving the illusion it was being used. He left the one furthest away from the sink area open. Next he brushed himself off, walked over to the sink and washed his hands. Then after glancing down at his watch he turned to leave. You could see his reflection pause briefly to unlock the door to enter the restroom as he made his exit.

Sam sped the footage up going through the next several as many women came and went. Most of them turning to leave immediately and appearing to be frustrated that the restroom was in such high use. Finally the moment we'd been waiting for occurred and Bella entered the restroom. We caught her reflection just as we had Black's before. Once she came into full view of the camera I saw her take her phone out of her pocket and a bright smile cross her face. It was obvious this was the point at which she had called me. My heart ached watching her, knowing this had been the last time I'd heard her voice. The time stamp on the video was now five minutes past three. Bella should have had another twenty-five minutes or so left in her doctor's visit.

The video played on and we saw a woman leave the stall Black had left unlocked and Bella enter it after she had abruptly ended our call. It became apparent that Jacob must have been hovering somewhere in the hall where he could view who went in and out of the restroom While Bella was still in the stall, another reflection past the mirror and this time we instantly recognized it as Black. His reflection paused as it had earlier, which meant he locked the door.

He came into view and I watched as he stood at the end of the row of stalls with his gun out and pointed in the direction from which Bella would come as she exited the stall she was using. When Bella came out of the stall, she jumped and gasped, have been startled from finding Jacob standing there with his gun aimed at her. He must have told her to put her hands in the air because that was the next thing she did. She then walked towards him. Once she was close enough he had her take her gun out of her holster and hand it to him. He held it in his hand and then said something to her as he waved his gun in the direction of the mirror. Bella walked over to the vanity and we all looked on as Jacob made her scribble the words onto the mirror.

After she finished, he pulled her away from the vanity and set her gun on it. He then held his hand out for something. When she handed him her cell phone we knew exactly what it was. She then said something to him. He laughed at her and pulled something out of his pocket. Bella took it from him and looked at it. I could see the fear in her eyes, she was terrified. It was then that I saw exactly how he was able to get her out of the building without anyone suspecting a thing.

"That son of a bitch," I growled, spinning with my fist cocked and just dying for something to take my frustration out on until I could get my hands on Black.

"I'm with you, man. I can't wait to hunt that fucker down and make him pay for this," Emmett said, his anger at his soon-to-be-former co-worker very apparent.

Our attention was drawn to Sam's computer running the tracking software when we heard a ping sound come from it. However our hopes were soon dashed when he informed us that the signal had been so weak it didn't register long enough to get a fixed location on it.

Seth returned with the warrants. Erikson then asked Tyler to come in with us so he could find out where everyone was in what they were working on.

"Ok. At this time I want to go over what we have so far so we can assess what we need to do next. Sam, where do we stand on locating Swan through the tracking device she's wearing?" Erikson inquired.

"Sir, she's out of our range or the device has been damaged. We're picking up weak blips, but nothing concrete enough to be able to determine where she is without going on a wild goose chase," Sam answered him. The information hit me like a lead brick. There was no telling how long it would take us to find her if we had to conduct a state wide search for her on foot.

"It was functioning when you gave it to her correct? You tested it?" was Erikson's next question.

"Yes, Sir. I've randomly checked it every day since giving it to her. Even earlier today for that matter and it found her exact location," was Sam's response. I thought I detected a slight hint of frustration that Erikson even asked him that. And while I saw how Sam might be a bit offended I also saw Erikson's view on being extra thorough.

"Then let's go with the assumption she is out of range. I will make the calls to get us a liaison to work with Sam to access the military's global positioning satellite system. Once they access it and put the satellite in position over our area, they will tap into it and use it to pinpoint where she is," Erikson told us.

Erikson turned to say something to Tyler, when he did I stopped him and asked, "What are we waiting for? Let's do that now."

"I'm on my way to my office to make the call now. You're going to have to have some patience, Cullen. I know this is difficult. I don't like the fact she is out there anymore than you do. But they don't just grant access because you ask. It will take time for them to give it. Accessing the military's satellite system requires a high level of security clearance."

"Damn it," I muttered, feeling helpless, like a caged animal, wanting to get out there and do something to find her. Reluctantly I nodded, knowing what he said was true. But I didn't like it.

While Erikson was gone I asked Sam where the chip was last picked up at. He told me it was between fifty-five and sixty miles south of here near the town of Lacey, Washington, but the blips that had randomly popped up were even further south. The whole situation was fucked up. As badly as I wanted to get into my car and head south, I knew that wouldn't be wise to do. Not to mention it would be stupid for me to go after her alone. But God how I wanted to. My body was twitching with anticipation to go get her.

I glanced at my watch. It was past six. She'd been gone more than three hours now, which in reality was a short time, but it felt like much longer than that. I walked over to the window staring out at the city. Last night and this morning had been damn near perfect. How the hell had things gone so wrong in such a short time?

"Where are you, Sweetness?" I whispered to myself.

It just didn't make sense to me why the fuck he had taken her. I began to go through all the different scenarios in my head. Bella had refused him so many times, did he think he could take her somewhere and change her mind? _Never. _She was mine, just as I was hers. I knew that as sure as I knew I needed air to breathe.

The only other thing that I could come up with was the possibility that he knew he was close to being discovered and he wanted to use Bella as a shield. Hold her hostage in order to make demands to ensure his escape from the country. I was pulled from my speculations when Erikson returned.

"Ok, folks, here is what we have," Erikson called across the room to all of us. "Jessica has been officially cleared. Tyler has finished sorting through the paperwork and I have just spoken to the agents who have been tailing her along with verifying a few other things. So we are now one hundred percent certain that Black is our traitor and he was alone in his betrayal. Jessica is on her way in and once she is here I am sending her and Tyler to go bring in Marcus Volturi, Reynolds' attorney. I've called in a huge favor to Judge Michelson and he is going to be on standby for us tonight. So once they go see him and have the warrant signed, they will be off to bring Volturi in. After scanning Black's cell phone records we found numerous instances where the attorney's number was listed as both incoming and outgoing. Not to mention the fact he is the one funneling the money to Black. We found several other deposits in amounts similar to the one Cullen discovered this afternoon."

"Let's hope Black hasn't alerted him," Emmett added.

Responding to Emmett's statement, Erikson said, "We've already planned ahead for that. The APB has already been issued on him. I was sure if he saw the reports out on Black and Swan being missing, he'd be tipped off so I had one issued on him as well. Even if his number hadn't been on Black's phone call list he would have been brought in because of the bank account info."

"What about the satellite?" I asked Erikson.

"I was just about to get to that," he said. "I've made the request. I know it's not easy but we have to wait for them to grant us access. Then once Jessica and Tyler return and we've questioned Volturi, Seth along with Tyler and our forensics team will go conduct the searches of the two premises in question."

So the wait began. I was going crazy waiting for us to be granted access. I was not made to sit and wait. It was my nature to go out and _do_. It was driving me crazy, sitting here and watching and waiting for that time to come. There was nothing in this world that would keep me from going to do just that once we knew where she was. I prayed that when Jessica and Tyler brought Volturi in he would be able to give us some kind of clue that would tell us where she had been taken. Extra agents had been called in, and the SWAT team along with SPD was at our disposal for when that time came. There was still no sighting of the missing guard and now Bella and Black were missing as well. We needed all the man power we could get.

"Do we have any clue what Black's motivation for all of this is? I mean obviously he is getting paid large amounts of money from Reynolds. But we have to be missing something here," I said looking around the room for some insight from the others.

"I get what you are saying," Emmett said, "But up until Bella was taken, we had assumed that money was the sole purpose. Kidnapping her certainly makes it look like you said, we're missing something. It's been bugging me all afternoon."

"Exactly. I don't know the man, but I can see him doing Reynolds' dirty work and terrorizing Bella for money. But beyond that there has to be more," I mused.

"Unless he is as sick as Reynolds himself," Sam added.

"Don't even fucking go there," I seethed.

"I know it's the last thing we all want to think about. I hate even thinking it," Sam admitted in a subdued tone.

"Then why the hell are you?" Emmett asked. He was not at all happy with the direction the conversation had taken either.

"Come on, Emmett, it's no secret here in the office that Black has been hot on Bella's tail to go out with him ever since he transferred here and he hasn't been quiet at all in pursuing her. She's shot him down every time. Quite vocally at times, causing him embarrassment. Now he has aligned himself with a sick fuck like Reynolds who has been convicted of rape and murder. It's not beyond the realm of possiblity. He has to already be off his rocker just to associate himself with Reynolds at all or at best extremely desperate. Those types of people sometimes snap, and often when they do it's quite sudden," Sam said as he explained his theory.

"He better not even think about touching her like that. He's already going to pay for what he's done. I'll kill him," I said in a deathly cold tone.

"There are other reasons too," Emmett said as he stood, scratching the back of his head. He then continued, "I don't like Sam's theory either, but I have to admit it is a remote possibility. Black could also have some warped idea that if he takes her away she would learn to love him. I know that's not much better, but remember, we are trying to look at this from his point of view."

"What about using her to get away? A hostage type situation? I would be willing to bet he knew he was close to being discovered. Plus it's possible that with Reynolds being transferred his job was done. If he didn't have access to Reynolds any longer then why stick around and wait to be found out. Why not get the hell out of dodge while you can? So therefore, he wants her to use as collateral so he can get away. He threatens her safety makes a few demands in exchange for turning her back over to us," I proposed to them.

I could practically see the gears turning in Emmett's head as he thought about what I'd said. "I think that is a very high probability," he stated after a few minutes.

The three of us spent quite a while going over just about every possible motive Black could have for his actions. Eventually we exhausted our options and Sam went back to his computers, trying to tweak the software and get some kind of a location on Bella, while Emmett and I both sat there not saying anything. I was certain we were both pondering all the reasons we had just discussed about Black's motive for taking Bella. Despite not liking the fact that I had to sit and wait, I was able to see that everything that could possibly be done to bring Bella back to safety, back to me, was being done. Something had to give soon. Either we needed to get access to the government's satellite tracking capabilities, or hear from Black. If he was going to use Bella to make demands, he wouldn't wait long to make them known.

Sometime around seven, "Cullen, McCarty, Clearwater," was called out from the doorway. I looked up to see Erikson standing there. "Let's go," he said and motioned with his hand for us to follow. "Uley, we'll be downstairs. If you get anything call down immediately."

"Yes, Sir," Sam answered.

The three of us walked with Erikson down to the elevators. Once inside the small space, he filled us in on the fact that Marcus Volturi had been located and would be arriving any minute for questioning. He also informed Emmett and me that Bella's parents had been notified about her current status and they were on their way to Seattle. Erikson said that Chief Swan knew he couldn't act in an official capacity, but wanted to be here to keep on top of the efforts to find his daughter. I was not looking forward to that confrontation. Charlie probably had a special bullet with my name engraved on it ready to shoot my ass with.

We took the elevator down to the first floor. After exiting it, we made our way to the end of the corridor where we came upon a door that said, 'Authorized Personnel Only'. Erikson punched a code into the keypad lock on the door and then turned the knob and opened it. He held the door as the three of us walked through and then once the door had closed, he entered a code to relock it.

Next the four of us walked down a narrow stairway, the sound of our footsteps echoing in a thundering sound as we made our descent. When we came to the bottom we went through yet another secured door. On the other side we walked down a short hall and entered the last door on the right. I noticed that about four feet away at the end of the hall there was a secured door that looked as if it led to a secured area of the underground parking garage. As soon as we entered the room, I knew why we were here. It was the viewing room adjacent to the interrogation room the FBI used. There was the standard two way mirror separating the two as well as a phone located on each side.

"Here's how this is going to go down," Erikson began. "Jessica and Tyler will arrive any second now with Volturi. Emmett and I are going to conduct the interrogation. We are the highest ranking agents here. Seth is related to Black, and you," he said looking at me, "are not a true agent and also romantically linked to Swan. We want this investigation to stay as clean as possible."

I nodded in understanding.

"Seth, you and Tyler are going to leave and go act on those search warrants. McCarty you'll be in the other room with me as well as Jessica since she was one of the arresting agents. Cullen, you see the phones located on each side of the two way glass?" Erikson asked.

"Yeah," I replied as I noticed Jessica and Tyler enter the room on the other side of the glass with a tall, medium built, dark haired man in cuffs.

"If at any time during the interrogation, you have a question you want answered, or if you aren't satisfied with an answer, Emmett or I will ask it for you. Just pick up the phone, push the zero and it will buzz through to the other room. Once we are sure we have all we can get from Volturi, he'll get processed and we will wait for Seth and Tyler to return and debrief us on what they found during the searches. Any questions?"

I was just about to answer when the door to the room opened. Tyler stepped in and said they were ready for Erikson and Emmett. The two of them left and reappeared a few moments later on the other side of the mirror. Tyler and Seth left and I remained in the room alone ready to get some fucking answers.

As the time went by it became clear that Mr. Volturi was one or more of several things. He was either one, a very stupid man. Two, he was a sad excuse of an attorney, and a shady one at best. Three, he was lying his ass off, and four, he was so completely greedy that he was willing to turn the other cheek so to speak and take part in something he didn't ask questions about so long as he reaped some substantial benefits from it. I was betting on a combination of them all.

After nearly two hours of intense questioning, Volturi admitted to being a go-between guy for Reynolds and Black. He admitted knowingly transferring money between the two. Volturi said that Reynolds had given him control over his estate when he had become incarcerated. He had been retained as legal counsel for Reynolds for many years and was to remain in control of all his assets until he met his demise on death row. At that time his assets where to be distributed as declared in his will with nearly all of it going to his siblings, but that Jacob Black was to receive a lump sum payment for business dealings he took care of for Reynolds since his being incarcerated prevented Reynolds from handling his own business affairs. Mr. Volturi himself was supposed to receive a nice chunk of change which he called severance pay for all the years of service he had provided Reynolds. When Volturi was asked what kind of business dealings Black was handling for Reynolds, Volturi claimed he didn't know. He said he had asked Reynolds sometime after he made the second transfer of funds to Black, what Black was doing for him, but was told that if he wanted to continue to be paid then he would shut up and do as he was asked. Being a greedy man, he did just that. Towards the end of the questioning, Emmett asked Volturi if he had any knowledge about Reynolds' taunting of Bella. He claimed he had no clue, said he was aware that Reynolds had some sort of fascination with her, but that he assumed it was simply because she resembled his dead girlfriend Sarah. That she reminded Reynolds of his long lost love. He seemed to be sincere when he answered the questions pertaining to Bella, but already seeing what a despicable person he was, I didn't know if I believed one word coming out of his mouth. And the icing on the cake came when he was asked if he ever considered what his dealings would do to his public image or that he could be disbarred for what he'd done—he seemed totally shocked.

Once the interrogation was finished, Jessica took Volturi to be booked and processed. Emmett, Erikson and I made our way back up to the conference room to wait for the details of the searches.

Our wait wasn't long, we listened as Seth and Tyler filled us in. When they had arrived at Jacob's condo, it was clean of any personal effects beyond the furniture that had been left behind. Clothing and any other personal items had been removed. The place looked as though it had been cleared out by someone who was permanently moving and not coming back. They had questioned a few of Jacob's neighbors and one of them said they had noticed him moving stuff out of the condo over the last few weeks, but she had only known him from saying hi to him in passing a few times and just assumed he was moving. Which was what any neighbor would assume under normal circumstances, unaware of what was really taking place; Jacob was preparing to run.

When Jacob's father's house was searched, Mr. Black had no knowledge of the shenanigans his son had been up to. He said that Jacob had been given legal access to all of his financial and personal dealings after he became incapacitated due to his poor health. His home healthcare nurse had told them that Jacob had recently asked her to sign a contract to become a live-in care provider for his father instead of just being there with him during the day while Jacob was at work. She said that he had told her he was going to have to go undercover for a case he was working on and would be out of reach except for in the event of a dire emergency for the next few months, that his sister would be taking over control of all his father's medical matters, but wouldn't be able to move here right away. William Black appeared to be genuinely devastated by the knowledge that Jacob had been using his bank account to obtain funds illegally and said that he too had been told by Jacob that he was going to be going undercover. Mr. Black was very willing to let the agents search his home and truly seemed to have been completely duped by his son.

It was now very clear that Jacob was planning to run, very likely flee the country. It made me sick inside with worry about Bella. It was nearing eleven pm and we still had no idea of where she might be. Black could be miles and miles away from here by now.

I needed to get out of that room and away from them all. I needed someplace quiet to clear my head and think about all the information we had obtained today. Because with everything we had learned in the last few hours, I still had this nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach that we were still missing something big. Something that would tell us what Black wanted with Bella and possibly where he had taken her.

I went to Emmett who was in the process of eating some of the Chinese takeout one of the other agents had taken the time to order. I told him that I was going to go down to Bella's office and that I'd be back in a little bit. He promised to call or come get me if anything happened.

As I walked into her office I was hit with her scent that still hung in the room. It made my whole body ache with the need to have her in my arms and know that she was safe. I sat in her chair and picked up the picture of the two of us from Alice's wedding that she had asked Rose to take. I gently ran my fingers over her face in the picture. She was gorgeous, but not just on the outside. She was just as beautiful on the inside and everything I had ever wanted in a woman.

"Oh, Sweetness, why didn't I just stay down there with you? I should have never let you out of my sight," I murmured to myself. It felt like days since I had held her in my arms instead of mere hours. Wishing we'd get the go ahead from the government soon, I rested my elbows on the edge of Bella's desk and propped my forehead on the heels of my hands and closed my eyes, trying to clear my head and think. However the silence was interrupted by the sound of my cell phone ringing.

It was the first of two calls I got over the next several minutes. The first one had come from my parents. Word was out about Bella being missing. They had seen her face splashed all over the news and were worried about the both of us. I assured them we were doing everything we could to bring Bella back safely. They offered their home to Bella's parents, should they want to come to Seattle and be here for when we found her. After they made me promise them to be careful, I thanked them and told them I'd pass the word along once I spoke to Bella's parents.

Chief Swan was going to be gunning for my head because of his daughter's current situation. Facing him was not something I was looking forward to, but I would take whatever he threw at me like a man. I had promised him, given him my word and swore on my life that I would keep her safe and I'd failed.

The next phone call I received was from Jasper. He and my sister were also concerned about Bella. He said they had seen the report on CNN and offered to cut their honeymoon short and come home to help in any way they could. It took some convincing but I finally talked them into staying. They only had a few days left in Hawaii and I prayed to God that I had Bella back long before then.

I was about to get up and make my way back down to the conference room when I heard the door to Bella's office open. Standing there with an extremely angry and worried expression on his face was Bella's father.

"You told me you'd protect her. I trusted you," he stated in a lethally calm tone.

"I know."

"What happened?" he asked. The tone of his voice was still cold and harsh.

Before I could answer Emmett was in the doorway behind him. "We need you both down in the conference room now. Our problems just got even worse than we imagined they could."

The three of us hurried back to the conference room. I tried repeatedly to get Emmett to tell me what was going on, on the way but he refused. My mind started to race with all sorts of thoughts. And I became increasingly worried that I was about to find out that something horrible had happened to Bella. We entered the room and Charlie and I were immediately made to sit.

"What the fuck is going on?" I demanded. My calm façade was starting to crack under the pressure of waiting and not knowing where Bella was and if she was unharmed.

Erikson came to stand in front of us. He pulled a chair out and clutched the back of it for support. "There's been an accident," he said. I looked around him when I caught a flash of the ten o'clock news report go across the TV that had been on all afternoon to monitor what was being reported on the situation.

"No!" I bellowed. I felt Seth's hands grip my shoulders tightly and force me back down in the chair as I tried to get up.

"Sit down and listen," Erikson ordered. "We're not sure if it was a true accident or a staged one at this point, but it's true. The transport van carrying Reynolds has crashed and Reynolds is missing from the site."

"Get your fucking hands off me," I roared as I tore myself from Seth's grasp, knocking over the chair I had been sitting in as I stood. The rage that came over me was blinding. I glared at Erikson, he had just become the unwilling receiver of my rage. Pointing my finger at him I ordered, "You better get whoever the fuck you have to on the phone now. Call the damn President if you have to. I don't care who it is. But get someone to access the GPS system and locate Bella _now_. I've lost every last once of patience I have. That fucking monster is out there now and so is Bella. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you, but she's my fucking life and I want her found _now_. And know this, if you aren't going to do anything about it, then _I_ will." I then turned and stormed out of the office.

**Loved it? Hated it? Got questions? Let me know. I'll try to answer them as long as they don't give anything away. Next chapter we will catch up with Bella and see how she is doing.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**EA  
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	23. No More Sorrow

**Hello and good morning everyone, it's that time of the week again. As always huge thank yous to My-Bella and Hope4more. And I just want say that you guys blow me away with all your reviews and your support. I have been expecting for the last couple of weeks to be screamed at for the twists and turns that have taken place, but you guys are amazing and just keep loving it and asking for more. That means the world to me, so thank you. Your words truly are a great motivator and I can't wait to see what you have to say after this chapter. Not completely sold on the song for this chapter. For most of the chapters the song I picked jumped right out at me and I knew it was the one when I found it. But I never did find that one this time around. However the words are pretty fitting and I love Linkin Park. so I hope you like it.  
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**Now let's go see what Bella has been up to.  
**

_No more sorrow  
I've paid for your mistakes  
Your time is borrowed  
Your time has come to be replaced_

_**No More Sorrow by Linkin Park**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**July 30, 2010**_

I watched out the window as we continued down the highway to only God knows where. We had been driving for a couple of hours now and were headed southwest on U.S. 101 somewhere just over the Oregon border.

I had remained silent since Jake had taken me. I had been biding my time, watching where we went so that if the opportunity presented itself I could get away. However in my present state of being restrained that wasn't going to happen. So I remained quiet while thinking of Edward and how much I loved him, hoping that at any time we'd be surrounded by a swarm of FBI vehicles ready to pluck me from this nightmare. But even though I wasn't the most technologically knowledgeable person, I realized that as long as we were moving it might be difficult to locate me. So I kept my eyes and ears open for an opportunity for anything.

However, as more time went by I couldn't stand it any longer. I needed some answers and the only way I was going to get them was if I asked. Jake might refuse to answer, but I would never know unless I tried and I was tired of sitting here doing nothing. If gaining information from him was all I could do right now, then I was going to seize the chance to do so.

"You can't really think you will get away with this do you?" I asked Jacob as I twisted the tracking ring on my finger for what seemed like the hundredth time, hoping that Edward and the others would be locating me soon. The images of my family still flashed before me when I closed my eyes. My parents sitting on their front porch, Jane and her ever growing pregnant belly walking across the playground with my nephew in Forks, and Edward climbing into his mustang outside his work, and the last one, my father sitting in his police cruiser had left me no choice but to go with Jake. He had said that there were men in place ready to take action against my loved ones with just a simple phone call from him. I didn't necessarily believe that there were that many men involved in this whole ordeal, but when it came to the lives of my family and Edward, it was not a chance I was willing to take.

I knew there were cameras all over the federal building and I knew that Erikson and Emmett would have the footage from every last one viewed until they found what they needed. And I also was very aware of the special piece of jewelry I was wearing. I had thought it was a bit silly when Sam first suggested it, but now I was extremely grateful. So I held on to the belief that I'd be tracked down and Jake would be made to pay dearly for his involvement in this mess.

When Jake didn't answer my first question I tried another. "Where are we going?"

Jacob glanced over at me with a sinister smile on his face and said, "Now wouldn't you like to know."

"That's why I asked, jackass," I snapped, as I once again pulled on the three sets of handcuffs he had linked together and cuffed to the arm rest of the car door as my restraints. If I had a hairpin I could pick the lock on the damn things, but I wasn't that fortunate right now.

"You know you would think as an FBI agent you would know better than to tug on handcuffs. They're not going to come apart," he snickered sarcastically. "But I guess it's easy to forget when you're the one wearing them."

"Fucker," I muttered.

"Oh come on now, Princess. No need to be so harsh," he teased as if I should be amused by my situation.

"What the hell do you think you are going to accomplish, Jake? Help me understand here. 'Cause I fail to see why you need to kidnap me to make your escape. You could've just sailed off into the sunset to some far away local and never been heard of again. What do you want with me?"

"Patience, Princess. You will see soon enough and get all the answers to your questions."

"What the hell does that mean? If you have some warped idea that you can keep me locked away long enough that I might eventually give in to your disgusting advances, you're completely delusional."

He chuckled darkly. "You know, Princess—"

"Stop calling me that," I blurted out interrupting him.

"As I was saying, _Princess,_ there was a time when I would have been quite happy to call you my own. When I first transferred here, I noticed you right away. You stick out like an apple in a box of oranges next to Jessica. And of course the two of you being the only women in the office…well the choice wasn't hard to make on which one of you to chase after. And it's not necessarily anything against her, she's ok, but she can't hold a candle to you," he said as he reached over and brushed his hand against my cheek.

Pulling my face away from his touch, I sneered at him. "She's a lesbian you idiot."

"So she claims. She's confused if you ask me. She will tell you she only likes women, but don't let her fool you. She likes to dabble. And besides I do have the capability to give her something she desperately wants."

My mind reeled from all the implications of his statement. "What are you saying? Have you had sex with her?" I asked completely baffled. I hated talking to him, but I needed some answers. I needed to know why he had done this to me. I barely knew the man, and for him to ruin my life and now kidnap me, I needed to know what his motivation for it was. I had a small glimmer of hope that maybe by talking to him and appearing interested in what he wanted, I could get him to spill some of his plan. I knew I was playing a bit of psychological roulette with him, but my life depended on it and I was going to do everything I could to help myself out of this situation until Edward and the FBI found me. Plus anything he told me could be used against him. _That is if Edward lets him live long enough to be prosecuted. _

"So you've slept with her? Is she in on this with you?"

"Yes and no."

He wasn't lying so I asked, "How did you manage that?"

"It's not like we were having an affair or anything. She is way too into that chick she's with. But they wanted a baby; I'm a guy with needs. So I fucked her a few times."

"And if she'd gotten pregnant? How would you fit into the baby's life?"

"I wouldn't. I'd already signed a contract with her stating that I wouldn't be held accountable in any way and in return I'd sign away all my parental rights, allowing her to put unknown in the space for father's name on the birth certificate."

"That doesn't bother you at all? Knowing you'd have a child out there in the world?"

"Nope."

His careless and callous attitude didn't surprise me at all. He'd been a smug bastard from day one.

"And she didn't know what you were doing to me?"

"No. She has no idea," he said sternly and again he wasn't lying.

I sat there quiet, gazing out the window for a few minutes pondering my next question. As I did, it occurred to me that I had never really gotten a read on Jake before. I had always been too pissed off at him while warding off his advances to focus long enough to even think about whether or not he was lying. The only time I had ever even taken the time to pay attention to what he was actually saying was the day in the break room when I'd seen him with Jessica. And that day she had done most of the talking. Right then I knew he had been playing me all this time. He knew about my gift.

Realizing Jake knew about my gift had been very eye opening. It explained why about six months ago his advances towards me became more physical and vulgar. Before that time he had flirted and teased, he'd been an ass. However even though he never backed down despite my repeated refusals, he had never been angry or harsh. But now when I looked at the time frame of how things had occurred over the last several months, I could connect the changes in his advances with the appearance of the apples. This made me really curious to know what happened then to make Jake suddenly become the delivery boy for Reynolds. I needed to find a way to get him to talk some more. I needed more answers.

Jake knowing about my gift also made me realize something else. It made me see how my gift could be used against me. He was able to cause such a rise in my own emotions with his crude advances that I was unable to focus on his and get a read on him. This was something I would definitely have to be careful of in the future. There was no way I could continue to do my job for the FBI if I was going to allow my own emotions to be manipulated and used against me. It would be a grave error to allow someone like Reynolds to go free if I were put into the same position that Jake had put me in. Although Jake did have the advantage of knowing about my gift ahead of time which was something few others would have. Reynolds had figured it out when I used it to get a confession out of him and he made sure to pass that information on to Jake. It was something I would have to be very cautious of in the future.

Time continued to go by, I saw a sign for the town of South Bend, Oregon go by and even though I didn't have a watch on, the sun was getting low in the western sky so I knew it was now sometime mid-evening. I wondered what Edward was doing. I missed him so much. I wanted nothing more than to be in his arms, safe with all of this behind us. It was those thoughts that kept me hanging on, knowing that they were doing everything they could to find me…and I prayed that it was soon.

With my thoughts focusing on Edward again, I knew he was probably angry with me for not listening to him and letting him come down and walk me up. Hell I was angry with myself. Although as fast as Jake had appeared after I had ended my call with Edward, I wasn't sure if Edward would have gotten to me in time to stop anything from happening. One thing I did know was that Edward would go to the ends of the earth to get me back. Why hadn't I called him before leaving Dr. Bartholomew's office and waited for him? It was simple, because I had to go to the bathroom and I knew the one upstairs was broken. My body couldn't have picked a worse time to have to fulfill its basic needs.

"You got lucky today you know," I said to Jake, breaking the heavy silence that filled the jeep we were riding in. I was hoping that it had been caught on the parking garage's cameras because I didn't think this was the vehicle he normally drove.

He snickered snidely. "I did. I had no idea that you would be out of your appointment so soon. Or that loverboy wouldn't stay with you. But it wasn't all luck. I was able to think quickly to pull my plan together. When I saw him come back upstairs it dawned on me that you had been locked in that conference room all day, and the bathroom was still out of order on our floor, I took the chance to make something happen."

"You do realize there are cameras in those bathrooms right?"

"Doesn't matter. This time tomorrow I'll be long gone," he stated incredulously, like he was planning a vacation getaway and that scared me. If he was leaving, where the heck was I going to be? Was he planning on taking me with him? And then I had a horrifying thought. Was he going to kill me?

All the images and words from my morning with Edward came rushing back to me. I remembered our love making and conversation after. Running my hand over his tattoo as we made love and him asking me to move in with him permanently; it had been a wonderful, blissful morning. Edward wasn't the only one who had begun to think about our future and what would happen after this case was settled. I had too, and even though I hadn't said it at the time, I was thrilled that he was too. And the smile he had on his face when he asked…it was similar to his sexy smirk that always made me melt, but it had more of a boyish charm to it. He looked like a little boy asking for a new toy, but wasn't quite sure what the answer would be, but still incredibly sexy.

I was suddenly wishing I had told him my real feelings then so that he knew just how badly I wanted that too. Because now to even think for one second that it might never happen was painful beyond anything I'd ever experienced. The thought of never seeing Edward again hurt much worse than what I'd been through with Garrett. The only other time in my life I'd experienced a pain that would come close to never seeing Edward again was when my grandfather had passed away_. No._ I refused to believe that we had met only to be taken away from each other now. I wouldn't give up. There was a way out of this and I was determined to find it. I just had to stay strong and hold on knowing that Edward and my loved ones were doing everything they could to find me.

I was ready to do whatever it took to get through this and back to Edward. Needing to feel closer to him, I reached up to touch my necklace. But when it was just out of my reach, I slammed my hands back down on my lap causing the cuffs to clang together noisily.

Having caught my movements out of the corner of his eye and hearing the sound of the cuffs, Jake glanced over at me and sarcastically said, "What's the matter, Princess? You getting restless over there? Don't worry we'll be there very soon and then our accommodations will be a lot more comfortable."

"I won't be comfortable until I am back where I belong."

"You're going to be waiting a long time for that. If _ever_."

_Not if I can help it, _I thought.

A short time later we pulled into the drive of a house near the coast. It was almost dark. The first thing I noticed was that we were near the ocean and the area was very secluded, but there had been a peppering of homes not too far away. Jake continued until the jeep was parked behind the house and as far as I could tell unable to be seen from the front.

I was jarred from taking in my new surroundings when Jake began to speak. "Now this is how we are going to do this. First you need to know that there isn't anyone around here within running distance. So if you were to get away, I'd be in the jeep and to you before you could find someone to help you."

I snorted at what he was telling me causing him to stop and look at me with a somewhat amused expression.

"What, are you doubting what I'm telling you, Princess?"

"I'm not your fucking princess and yeah actually I do. I'm not an idiot Jake. I saw the houses down the beach as we drove in. You think I'm not paying attention? Yes it's secluded, but not deserted. Remember I'm a trained FBI agent too."

He huffed indignantly, "That might be, but I am twice your size, so you just go ahead and try to get away."

I rolled my eyes at him and waited for him to do whatever it was he was going to do next. Stupid ass didn't realize that just because he was twice my size, I was twice as smart as he was.

"Now as I was saying. I am going to put the window down and then I am going to come around there and remove the cuff from the door. Any funny business by you and I will shoot you." He pulled his gun out to back up his words. "Do you understand?"

"Go ahead. You're probably going to sooner or later anyways," I replied.

"Ok, you want to be like that, any funny business and I'll make that phone call I promised you I would before. Who do you want me to choose first? Your parents or the little boy?"

_Bastard._ I never imagined there'd come a time in my life when I hated someone so much. It just wasn't in my nature. But that changed the moment Jacob Black used my family to threaten me. I hated him with every fiber of my being. What he was doing not only pissed me off, but it scared me to death. It was a horrible place to be stuck between. Hating him and wanting to defy him at every turn, but fearing for the lives of my loved ones and knowing I couldn't, wouldn't take the chance and call his bluff. I had to give in, and he knew it. "Fine, I get it."

He did just as he said he was going to and then held his gun on me as he instructed me to put the window back up on the vehicle and to then reach over and turn the keys into the off position and hand them to him. He then ordered me out of the car and to close the door. After locking it, he grabbed the cuffs linking my hands together and pulled me along to the door of the house.

The house was a framed structured house and the front wall was a series of large windows that faced the ocean. As he opened the door and tugged me inside, I looked over my shoulder and I felt a pang in my chest as I saw the setting sun out over the water. It reminded me of the first time I had seen Edward on the beach in Capri and of the nights we had spent recently watching the sun set from the roof of his loft.

Jake led me along down a hall after he had shut and locked the large glass door. He stopped in front of the bathroom and shoved me inside, telling me again I better not try anything funny.

I took my time in the bathroom, taking solace in the few minutes alone without Jake's cold stare watching over me. It was like I had been holding my breath and I was able to take a few minutes to breathe again. And even though I wasn't giving up on getting away from Jake, I was worried that it had been so long and there had been no sign of the FBI or any other type of authority. Of course I then reminded myself that even if they knew where I was they would wait for what they felt was the right moment to move in.

Jake must have thought that I was taking too long because he burst through the door just as I had finished washing my hands and slipping my ring back on my finger. I had had been startled when he did and nearly dropped the thing, barely getting it back on without him seeing it. The last thing I wanted to do was draw attention to it and have him get suspicious and take it away or destroy it. I had taken it off, not wanting to get it wet as I washed my hands and splashed some water on my face after I had taken care of my personal needs.

"What the hell?" I screeched at him.

"You've been in there long enough," he barked as he grabbed my arm and pulled me back down the hall.

"Yeah Jake, I'm sitting on the toilet plotting your demise." He didn't say anything, just yanked harder on my arm as he dragged me along through the house until we reached the kitchen where he shoved me down into a chair and cuffed my left wrist to the table leg.

It was completely dark now. And despite the fact that the table was placed in front of two of the large windows at the front of the house, you couldn't see beyond more than a foot or two past the small light that had come on over the front door. It was a creepy sort of darkness, the kind that reminded you of a horror movie.

I heard clanging around in the kitchen and looked to see Jake attempting to cook. He pulled a box of what appeared to be ready to eat frozen fried chicken out of the freezer and dumped it on a cookie sheet before shoving it into the oven. After that he grabbed a box of instant potatoes out of the cabinet and placed a pot of water on the stove to boil. The fact that he seemed to be fully prepared for being here had me wondering just how long he'd been planning it.

"Wow, Jake, it's so nice of you to cook dinner for me. Really, you shouldn't have gone through so much trouble. A Taco Bell drive through back in Seattle would have been just fine."

"Go ahead, keep mouthing off and you won't eat."

I guess I had reached his limit with my smart-assed remarks. So I changed the topic. He was getting pissed off and that was the last emotion I wanted to bring out in him. There were still so many answers I needed.

"You're right. I'm sorry." I lied to placate him.

I let a few minutes go by as I stared out into the darkness, hoping to get a glimpse of anything. But when it didn't happen, I decided to start questioning him again.

"Why are you doing this? I find it hard to believe that this is some sick sort of revenge because I wouldn't go out with you or let you in my pants."

He turned to face me and for the first time since I had known him, I saw a different Jacob Black. One that looked torn, sad and maybe resentful or perhaps fearful. And then I was hit with a wave of guilt. It really caught me off guard that he was feeling any sort of remorse and so I decided to see if I could play on it a bit.

"Might do you some good to talk about it," I said to him.

"Don't go all shrink on me. I'm well aware of the little mind games you like to play."

"Yes I'm sure you do. After all you've teamed up with a rapist and murderer. How's that going for ya? Is that what you want to be when you grow up?"

"Fuck you, bitch," he snapped at me. "You don't know anything about me."

"I know that six months ago you were an FBI agent with a long career ahead of you. You may have had a bit of a pompous attitude, but didn't come across as a bad person. Especially not one who would put himself in a position to do the bidding of a monster like James Reynolds. So how does that happen? How does a federal agent decide to betray his country and his fellow agents? You say I don't know you, so tell me. Who is Jacob Black, 'cause you sure as hell aren't the man that was there when I became an agent."

"Why do you care? I'm nothing to you."

"Because I'd like to know why the hell my life has been turned upside down. I want to know why you've hauled me off away from my family and loved ones. If I'm never going to see them again, I think I at least deserve to know why."

He stood there looking at me for a moment. I could tell he was carefully choosing what he wanted to say. The timer on the oven dinged and he turned and took the chicken out and placed a few pieces on two plates along with some of the instant potatoes. He brought the two plates he had prepared over to the table and then went back, retrieving two bottles of water out of the fridge and two forks out of the drawer. He then came back over and sat down across from me at the table.

"I guess you do deserve to know that much. After all, it's not like I'll be around for any of it to affect me."

That was the second time he had talked about being gone away from here. Both times he had referred to himself only which really worried me. If he was leaving for parts unknown, where was I going to be? But then again, it seemed unlikely to me that it would take beyond tomorrow for Sam to track me down using the device in the ring. And if that were the case, the only place Jacob Black was going to be was behind bars. So for now there was no point in arguing that matter with him, I just wanted information.

He moved his potatoes around on his fork for a few minutes and then began to tell me his story. I began to eat my food as well. I didn't really want to, it barely looked edible, but at this point it was worth it to keep him talking.

"It started a couple of years ago. Well really much longer than that, it was more like four years ago, when my ex-wife Tanya left me. She had run up every credit card we had, drained our savings account of every penny we had with her extravagant shopping sprees. As my wife she had knowledge of all my personal information. Social security number, driver's license number, basically everything she needed to run up a huge amount of debt in my name. She would apply for the cards in my name and when it came had herself added as an authorized user."

"So she did that and left you?" I asked, taking a drink of my water.

"Yeah. When she couldn't get anymore cards, because our debt well exceeded what we could afford on my salary, she decided I couldn't provide her the life she was meant to live and left me, going back to Alaska where her filthy rich parents were. They hired her some fancy lawyer and left me stuck with all the bills."

"I can see where that would suck, but I fail to see what that has to do with me."

"It doesn't have anything to do with you. But it is the catalyst that has led me to do the things I've done. For me personally, none of it has to do with you. It's just a means to an end to the clusterfuck of a situation I got myself into."

"I still don't see how kidnapping me could be the means to fix anything for you."

He let out a long frustrated sigh and set his fork down. "After Tanya left and I realized what a mess my financial situation was, I busted my ass to do everything I could to pay off the debt. But no matter how hard I tried I just couldn't stay on top of it. I would get to a point where I would think I was getting somewhere, but then they add on all their fees and interest rates and next thing you know you're right back where you started. So when a friend of mine said he knew someone who could help me with a loan, I thought it couldn't hurt to check it out. Quil took me to see his buddy who ran a casino."

"What, you gambled to get the money to pay off your debt?"

"Not exactly. Quil's friend Laurent gave me a loan to pay off my debt. The interest rate was still highway robbery, but it would remain the same. I would pay it off and not have to worry about late fees, or climbing interest rates. After a few payments I guess Laurent trusted me. I was in there one night dropping off my payment since he insisted it be paid in cash. He offered to float me a line of credit to play a few rounds of blackjack. Luck was on my side that night and I won. I got back what he floated me plus some and was feeling pretty good about myself."

"Let me guess. The gambling bug had bit you hard."

"Yeah," he said raising his bottle of water to his mouth and chugging half the bottle in one drink.

"And you ended up worse off financially than you were before?" I asked certain he'd confirm my guess.

"Yes."

"So then what happened?"

"Well it wasn't until about ten months ago that it got bad. They wouldn't float my debt any longer at the casino. I knew my father had quite a bit of money saved, so I forged his name on the needed documents and I dipped into his hard earned life savings to pay off my gambling debts. I had every intention of putting it back before he had known it was gone. But I'm sure you are well aware that an addiction like gambling doesn't just go away. To make a long story short I couldn't stay away from the gambling. My father's health took a nose dive and he needed money to cover medical expenses that his insurance didn't. Feeling I didn't have any other option, I went to Laurent again for a loan to put the money back in my father's account. But Laurent wanted collateral this time due to my gambling habits. If I provided enough collateral he would cover the amount I owed the casino as well as what I needed to restore my father's account."

I almost felt sorry for the guy. But sitting here worried about how I was going to get back to Edward and my family, and the fact that Jake had been taunting me for money, any sorrow I felt for him vanished rather fast.

"What did you do? I'm still confused about how you came to taunt me for Reynolds. I mean I get he obviously paid you. But how did it even come to fruition?"

He got up and downed the remainder of his water and pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge this time. I guess what he had to say now required something a bit stronger to stomach what he had done. I was having a hard time myself digesting the fact that I was sitting here because he had not been able to curb his gambling. His beginning situation may not have been his fault, but the one he was in that led him to become Reynolds' henchman most definitely was.

Jake sat back down at the table and continued filling me in on how he and Sam were cousins, which I told him I already knew. He told me of their Native American heritage and how his father owned a lot of land on the reservation. Land that was well respected to have in his people's world. Apparently Laurent's boss, the owner of the casino, thought the land would be a perfect place to build a second casino. When Jake's father made Jake the executor of all his affairs, the deed to the land was put in Jake's name. His father said that he'd inherit it when he passed so why not change the ownership now. So he put up the land as the collateral. When Jake continued to gamble and it became clear he couldn't pay back the loan, Laurent's boss wanted the land. Jake said being faced with the prospect of losing his family's land and suffering the immense embarrassment of his people, he finally realized what he'd done. The mess he'd created. He said by then he was in too deep and that was when he was introduced to Reynolds' attorney and became aware of just who Laurent's boss was. It was James Reynolds —also known as James Wolfe. Jake said he didn't know why the name change had taken place, but James had lives under both names. And once he told me about Reynolds second identity, Jake's line about the big bad wolf made complete sense.

Apparently the legal dealings of the Reynolds realty investments were run by James Reynolds, which I knew about since the FBI was aware of his profession. And then the illegal gambling, betting, prostitution and drugs sales that went through the casino were done by James Wolfe. That explained to me why James Reynolds was such a wealthy man. I knew that before his arrest he had been well known in the real-estate world, which was most likely how he had lured in the women he raped and murdered.

Jake went on to tell me how he was informed that this time instead of repayment in the form of cash, this time payment was required in the form of delivering the apples and notes to me. He said he didn't agree immediately, but told the attorney, Marcus Volturi, and Laurent that if he was going to be putting everything he had on the line, then he needed to be compensated beyond having his debt cleared. He wanted to be set for life and to have his father set so that he wouldn't have to worry about any medical expenses ever. Jake said that he knew if he was ever found out, his career would be over and he'd spend a very long time in jail, if not the rest of his life.

I was furious and I let him know it as I yelled at him. "So you were set up for life to taunt me? To send me some apples and notes. Break into my house, take photos of my family and threaten their lives so you could kidnap me all because you had a fucking gambling addiction? You know you are just as sick as Reynolds is. I could almost see your reasoning for agreeing to send the apples and the notes. You get your debt paid off, you go away and live your life, the notes and apples stop and we all move on and live our lives. But you must realize that what you have done now is way beyond just taunting someone. You have kidnapped me Jake. When you are caught, you _will_ go away for a long fucking time. I just don't understand. What do you want with me? Do you hate me that much because I wouldn't sleep with you?"

He stood and yelled back. "I don't plan on getting caught. And just for the record, it wasn't supposed to be like this. And it doesn't have anything to do with you not sleeping with me. Not that I'm sure a roll in the hay with you wouldn't be fun. My advances on you were to simply get a rise out of you and keep you from using that little mind fuck trick you got and figure out that it was me all along. I couldn't sleep with you now if I wanted to or if you wanted to. I've been forbidden from having any fun with you. He called you his forbidden fruit. Kidnapping you only came into play recently. They used me. Got me in so far until there was no way out. They threatened to turn me in and to harm my family. I was out of options. There was no way out for me anymore. It was the only way I could guarantee they'd do what they said. It was you or me and I wasn't going to let it be me. I had already done too much to turn myself in and hope for any kind of mercy from the feds. My only hope was to have enough money to go away forever and not ever look back. So I had to take you. I was promised that once that was done the rest of the money would be put into an account overseas and I could leave. Disappear from the face of the earth."

"But why Jake, just what are you going to do with me?" Forgetting that I was cuffed to the table leg, I tried to stand. But as I did I felt a bit light headed and was forced to sit back down real quick.

"That, Princess, I can't tell you. I think I'd prefer to see the surprise on your face."

I tried to figure out what he meant, but my vision began to blur and I was feeling extremely tired. I looked up at Jake and was barely able to get out the words as I felt my body beginning to lean forward. Rubbing my eyes with my free hand I slurred, "You drugged me."

"Yeah, sorry about that. But I have to leave for a while and I needed to make sure you remained quiet. I can't take the chance that if someone wanders this way that you might scream out for help and I can't take you with me. So I need you to sleep while I'm gone."

I barely registered his last few words or the fact that he was carrying me somewhere.

_**July 31, 2010**_

I woke the next morning, or at least I thought it was morning. Maybe next day would be better. The sun was shining so brightly it hurt my eyes. Out of habit I went to roll over and reach for Edward's warm body, but where I was came crashing back to me when the harsh metal of the handcuffs pinched the tender skin of my wrist. My left arm was cuffed to the center spindle of the headboard of the bed I was on and my head was pounding, probably from whatever it was Jake had used to drug me. I tried to scoot up into some kind of a sitting position to allow the circulation to return to my arm. It was beginning to go numb from having been raised over my head all night in the same position.

In my efforts to sit up my arm pulled on the spindle that my arm was cuffed to and I noticed that it moved just a bit. _Hmmm maybe its loose enough to wiggle out of place_, I thought. But just as that thought occurred to me I heard the voices of at least two men coming toward the room. The door was slightly ajar so I could hear them pretty clearly. One of them I immediately recognized as Jake's. The other was familiar, but I couldn't place it. They were talking about some staged accident and how it had gone even better than they could have hoped for and how it was unfortunate that McMillan had to be disposed of and couldn't come with them. Then it dawned on me that whoever it was didn't sound sorry at all. In fact he seemed to be gloating about it and my suspicions were confirmed when the person with Jake next stated that McMillan had used up his resourcefulness and was no longer needed.

There was no reply from Jake on the subject, leading me to believe he kept his mouth shut out of fear of meeting the same fate as the prison guard had.

I quickly scooted back down on the bed and prayed that I would be able to fake sleep well enough to fool them. I didn't want them to remove me from the bed or the room until I had a chance to see if I could get loose. Holding my breath and letting it out slowly, I did my best to calm myself and slow down my breathing. Relaxing completely was difficult in my heightened state of alertness. I couldn't stop trying to figure out who the other voice belonged to. I heard the door creak as they pushed it open the rest of the way and walked across the room.

I laid there anxiously awaiting their approach with my heart pounding in my chest. It was all I could do to keep my body still. I fought the urge to cringe when I felt a hand in my hair.

"Oh, my dear Isabella, I have waited a long time for this moment," the other person said.

As soon as the first few words registered in my brain, I knew exactly who was in the room with Jake and who it was Jake had been talking to in the other room. Every one of the notes he'd sent me started out in much the same way. I didn't know how he had gotten there, but suddenly all of Jake's comments about being long gone made sense. They had planned this whole thing. Once Reynolds' transfer was set in motion, Jake knew he had to strike. No wonder he had taken such a big chance on me using the bathroom yesterday. I felt Reynolds run his fingers through my hair again. It took everything I had in me to keep from pulling away and curling up into a tight ball. My skin began to crawl from his touch, I was grateful that I was wearing long sleeves and pants so that he couldn't notice the goose bumps I felt covering my body in repulsion to him touching me. I was so relieved he couldn't actually touch my skin. It was the only thing helping me hold it together. I was already repulsed and if he were to lay his disgusting hands on my bare skin, I didn't think I would be able to hold myself together. The urge to retch was already overwhelming and I was barely able to control myself. I wanted to pull away from him, snatch my hair from his fingers and scream at him to keep his filthy hands off of me. It was the most disgusting feeling I had ever felt in my life and for the first time ever I wished I had short hair. To keep myself calm and from acting out and alerting them to the fact I was awake, I kept repeating over and over in my head that I would find a way out of this. I felt like that little fish in that Disney movie I watched once with my nephew, the one that had to keep swimming. So I told myself, just keep waiting, just keep waiting. They'd leave the room and then I would put my plan into motion.

"I'm surprised she's still out. How much did you give her?" I heard Reynolds ask Jake. Thank god that at least for the moment I seemed to be convincing them I was still asleep.

"Not much. I didn't even give her a full dose since she is so small," Jake answered him. He had an air of irritation in voice. It appeared he didn't like being questioned.

Reynolds voice took on a harsh and menacing tone as he said to Jake. "You can stick around until she wakes up. If any harm came to her by the drugs you gave her, you will pay dearly."

"She'll be fine. And my plane leaves in just a couple of hours."

"Then you better hope she wakes up by then," Reynolds hissed to his lackey. I continued to be still as I heard the two of them walk away. However, the sound of their footsteps changed at the same time I heard the door creak again. I was pretty sure that one of them was still in the room. Suddenly a voice next to my ear hissed out the words, "Soon, my dear, very soon," and I knew I was right. But as quickly as Reynolds had spoken the words, I heard him make his way back to the door and shut it tightly, followed by his footsteps down the hall.

_No fucking way. Over my dead body, _I thought as I finally let out the gush of air my lungs had been holding back and allowed my body to shiver with the repulsion it had been fighting back since the second I realized it was Reynolds here with Jake. I had no clue how he had come to be here. The only thing that made sense was that some kind of breakout had been staged during his transport and that must have been why Jake had to leave last night.

Knowing I had to do something, anything to try and get out of here, I turned my focus back on the discovery I'd made just before Satan and his minion had entered the room. I rolled over and looked up at the spindle I was cuffed too. The headboard appeared to be worn and old and since it wiggled with every movement I made I had some hope that maybe I could pry it out of its spot.

I laid flat on my back and reached up over my head and held on to the spindle with both hands. But even using every ounce of strength I had, all it did was wiggle in its spot. I needed to gain some leverage somehow. Then I got an idea. I wasn't sure if I could get into position to do so but I knew I had to try. And when I heard a loud chorus of shouts coming from the other room, I knew I had to do it quickly. They could be in here any minute to take me wherever the heck it was they were going and I was hell bent on not letting that happen.

So I sat up. Ignoring the pain in my wrist as the handcuff dug into my flesh, I scooted back as far as I could and situated myself so that I was facing the headboard. With my legs bent nearly to my chest and my hands grasped firmly on the spindle I used my feet and legs as leverage to pull on the piece of wood. I heard it crack, but it didn't come loose from its spot. Desperate to think fast, I reversed what I was doing. Instead of holding the spindle and putting the pressure on the headboard with my legs, I held onto the headboard with my hands and placed both of my feet on the spindle. It was really awkward since my hand was cuffed to the spindle, but since Jake had used more than one set of cuffs, it gave me a little room for movement.

After a couple of tries and a few well placed kicks, I was rewarded with the sound of splintering wood and the spindle popping out of place. I took a second to listen for any indication that what I had been doing had been heard by the others. When I was met with the sounds of arguing loud voices, I pulled the cuff off the piece of wood and made my way over to the window. I prayed like crazy that the window would open as I pulled up the blinds. And after a few hard tugs, it did. Thankful for being on the first floor, I pushed the screen out and raised my leg over the window ledge and prayed that I could get far enough away before they noticed I was gone.

**It's really getting exciting now huh? Loved it? hated it? Tell me what you think. Next chapter we will see how the efforts to find Bella are going back in Seattle.  
**

**See ya next week, **

**EA  
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	24. When You're Gone

**Good morning and Happy Friday. I hope it's warmer and there's less ice and snow on the ground where ever it is that you are. Thank you My-Bella and Hope4more.**

**There's a polyvore for this chapter posted on my blog as well as an awesome, drool worthy picture of FBIward that Noelleseven made for me. Make sure you check them out.  
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**I have a one shot that will be featured in the Countdown to Valentine's Day hosted by Breath-of-twilight. At least one, sometimes two new one shots will post every day until Valentine's Day. Then on the fourteenth, a mass collaboration short fic that has been written by all the authors taking part in the countdown will post. My one shot is titled, My Forever Valentine. It has a sort of a runaway bride theme to it so if you wanna check it out the link can be found on my profile page list as well as on my blog. **

**TLA has had the honor of being nominated to be featured in this month's read along on the Indie Fic Pimp blog. It's actually a really cool thing. All of the blog's followers get together on twitter and they read the story that is chosen at the same time and discuss it along the way. The will talk about their likes, dislikes, what they think will happen in the next chapter and so on. It's like story time fan fic style. So if you would like to see TLA win this honor take a second and head over to the Indie Fic Pimp blog and vote for it. And while you are there you can check out the awesome review les 16 wrote about Truths, Lies and Alibis. She is an amazing author herself and the fact that she took the time to brag about mine means the world to me. You can find the link for it on my profile page and blog as well.  
**

**Stephenie Meyer Owns it all. **

**Now lets go see what our favorite couple is up to.  
**

_All I ever wanted was for you to know  
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul  
I can hardly breathe I need to feel you here with me_

_When you're gone  
The pieces of my heart are missing you  
When you're gone  
The face I came to know is missing too  
When you're gone  
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok  
I miss you_

_**When You're Gone, by Avril Lavigne**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**July 31, 2010**_

To say I had been shocked last night when it was Bella's father who came after me when I'd stormed out of the conference room would have been a massive understatement. When I'd heard the footsteps coming behind me, I'd ignored them figuring it was Emmett coming to try and defend his boss's actions. But as I'd stood hunched over Bella's desk staring at the picture of us, begging God for some fucking clue as to where she was, it was Charlie's voice I'd heard.

Running a towel through my wet hair, I sat perched on the edge of my childhood bed as Charlie's words came back to me.

"_You need to go home and get some sleep so that you are ready and in the right frame of mind when the time comes to go get her."_

"_How?" I asked him with a slightly hoarse voice as I fought the lump forming in my throat._

"_How what?" he returned._

"_How do I go home when __**she's**__ not there?"_

"_Let me let you in on a little secret, son," he told me at the same time his hand clapped me on my back and planted firmly in place._

"_If for one fraction of a second I didn't believe they were doing everything within their power to bring her home safely, I would not be sitting back and waiting for answers. As a police officer I am well aware of the fact that sometimes these types of situations don't unfold nearly as fast as we'd like them to. And it's excruciatingly harder when it's your loved one out there missing. I've seen it countless times and I would love nothing more than to go find her right now."_

_I had responded with a simple nod, agreeing with what he was saying, while waiting for him to continue._

"_You aren't going to be any good when the time comes to bring her home if you aren't able to focus and be ready physically. And you won't get either of those things if you don't get some sleep and something to eat. If going home is too hard right now, then surely you must have a friend's house, maybe your parents to go to or even a hotel room nearby. You won't do either of you any good if you go on like this. There is nothing to be done until we get satellite access and locate her. So use the time between now and then wisely. Use it to be as best prepared as you can for when that time comes."_

"_You're right," had been my response to him. _

_He had then said, "In my line of work it's my job to be right. Now I'm going to go practice what I preach and see if Renee and Carmen have found us a hotel room." _

Before Charlie left Bella's office, I'd let him know of my parents offer for him, Renee and Bella's grandmother to stay at their home. After talking to Renee, they'd decided to take my parents up on their offer. And since going home didn't feel right without Bella, I had come here to my parents house too. My mother had prepared enough food for an army by the time we had arrived and I'd told her she didn't need to go through such trouble, but she insisted that I could take the leftovers back to the bureau for Emmett and the others. I had thanked her, knowing that they'd surely appreciate it.

At some point after everyone else had gone to bed, I must have passed out from sheer exhaustion on the couch while flipping between CNN and MSNBC as I scanned all the news reports to get info on the incident surrounding Reynolds' transfer van. Early reports had indicated that the van had suddenly careened out of control, flipping onto its side and ending up in the ditch running along the highway. The accident had happened on a rural stretch of the I-5 which runs along the Hood River just north of Portland. The one witness that had stuck around said that there were loud popping noises, like tires popping, and then the van had swerved out of control. The witness then said that a man had appeared with a gun and fired a few shots into the cab of the van and then after pulling one of the inmates from the rear, he had tossed something into the van. Because it had been so dark at that time of the day, the witness had not been able to tell which direction the gunman and the prisoner had gone in. And unfortunately, the van had exploded just minutes after the two had walked away, making it impossible for the witness to see past the bright flames. The report had then went on to say that according to information supplied from the FBI there had been only one prisoner aboard the transport van and due to the witness seeing a prisoner removed from the back of the van before the explosion, it was assumed this had been a set up escape for James Reynolds. It had talked about the guards who had been killed in the transport van and the massive manhunt that was underway to find him and his accomplice. The reporter had also said that because the area was densely wooded, it wouldn't be easy to spot Reynolds and the gunman on foot or by air and that they had brought in search dogs to aid in the hunt.

_Accomplice._ There was that fucking word again. If Jake had Bella, then who the hell was it that helped Reynolds escape from the van? There had to be more than one person helping him, probably the guard from the prison.

I looked out the window and then glanced at my watch. It was early, close to five. I got up and rummaged through the closet of my old room and found a pair of old jeans and a white striped button down shirt to throw on. Once I was dressed and had my holster on and my gun in it, I made my way downstairs. My plan was to grab a cup of coffee and then head to the bureau and be ready to go get my girl back. However about halfway down the stairs, I smelt my mother's pancakes and knew there'd be no sneaking out of the house before everyone was up.

As I walked through the foyer I saw Bella's grandmother sitting in the living room knitting. I paused briefly wondering why she wasn't in the kitchen with the others. At the same time I took a step to move on, she looked up and saw me.

"Come here, young man," she instructed me. I couldn't help the slight smile that formed on my face at the term she used for me; it reminded me of my own grandmother.

She patted the spot next to her on the couch, indicating she wanted me to sit. It felt as though she had read my mind a minute ago when the next thing she said was, "Too many emotions running rampant in the kitchen. It gets to be overwhelming at times. Knitting is what I do to calm my nerves and keep me occupied." It was then that I remembered her shared gift with Bella.

"Must be difficult at times," I said sympathetically.

"It can be, but that's why I find something to keep my mind busy so I can avoid it when necessary."

"What are you making?"

"A sweater for Alec and Jane's new baby."

"I guess that explains the red. Bella had mentioned that Jane was due around Christmas time," I said feeling a tightness in my chest as I thought about Bella and the hopes I had for our future. _Maybe one day Nana would be knitting a sweater for my and Bella's baby._

A news update came across the TV indicating that Reynolds had still not been located, but the search was underway and authorities were hopeful the daylight would aid them in their search.

Nana looked at me; I could see fear, compassion, and fire burning in her eyes. I knew that she was not someone I would ever want to spar with. I had learned in the short time I'd known her that she was a loving and compassionate woman, but she was also strong and brave and determined. Headstrong. Bella shared in many of those traits with her grandmother. They were part of what made Bella who she was and why I loved her with everything in me. It also gave me great hope that she was handling this situation by remaining strong, level headed and keeping the faith that I was coming for her. I had to believe that she was staying brave. It was the only thing that was keeping me sane until that time came.

"That monster has my grandbaby, doesn't he?" she stated, pulling me from my thoughts.

"Yes, I believe he does. I'm sorry," I said hanging my head in regret.

She stopped knitting and set her things on her lap. I could feel her eyes on me as she began to speak. "You're going to bring her back to us." It wasn't a question; it was a statement as if there was no doubt in her mind at all.

I looked up at her without a hint of doubt in my voice and answered her. "Yes."

"Then don't be sorry. Just get her back here where she belongs and everything else will take care of itself."

I nodded and felt comforted by her acceptance of my word. I couldn't fault her if she did doubt me. But she didn't. She believed in me to bring Bella back to her even though she had no reason to; Bella had been in my care when she had been taken. Whether or not they blamed me was irrelevant to me. I blamed myself and because of that I would do whatever it took to bring Bella home to her family. I'd give my own life if that's what it would take to keep my word.

"Thank you for believing in me," I said to her as I reached over and placed my hand over hers where it rested on her lap. "I promise I won't let you down."

I got up to go get that cup of coffee I'd been seeking earlier when I felt her hand on my arm. I turned back around to see her standing there. Her eyes were now filled with love and sparkling with unshed tears.

She pulled me into a hug and whispered, "Don't beat yourself up. I know you love her just as much as we do. Her father knows that too even if he won't admit it. Just go get her and bring her back here to all of us. That includes you." And with one last squeeze with her strong but tiny arms, she sat back down and picked her knitting back up.

I vowed to myself again that I wouldn't let them down. Failure was not an option. The fact that even though Bella had been in my care and under my protection when she was taken, her family as well as mine were now united in their faith that I'd bring her back to all of us. This meant more than I would ever be able to find the words to express. My only option now was to keep my word and do exactly as I had promised. Then maybe one day Bella and I would be able to pass this strength and unity on to our own children, because I had no doubt that we would one day have a family of our own.

Half an hour later, Charlie and myself, our arms laden with all the food my mother had cooked last night and this morning, made our way back to the FBI offices in downtown Seattle. I had been correct in my earlier thoughts and the men were all grateful for my mother's thoughtfulness; the food was devoured in no time.

Charlie and I were filled in on what they had learned over night. Some of the extra field agents that had been brought in were sent to keep tabs on Reynolds' family members and their homes. It wasn't likely that he'd try to make contact with one of them given he was probably smart enough to know they'd be watched the minute word of his escape got out. Although you just never knew what delusional choices someone like him might make when desperate so you covered all your bases.

We were also informed that after doing some more digging into Reynolds' background and running a check on James Wolfe, it was uncovered that Reynolds had originally been named James Wolfe. Emmett had contacted Reynolds' brother to see if he could fill in the blanks about the reason for the name change. It was discovered that the change had taken place when Reynolds would have been only about eight years old, an age when a parent or legal guardian would have had to make the change for him.

Emmett told me it was also revealed that James Reynolds was living two lives under his two names. James Reynolds was a real estate tycoon, James Wolfe owned a casino. A team had been sent into the casino late last night to raid the place for more evidence and had discovered several illegal dealings were being run through the business; prostitution, drugs and money laundering were just a few. It made me physically sick, not to mention furious, to think that this man who was nothing but scum might be anywhere near my Sweetness. I would see to it that every fucking bone in his body was broken if any harm came to Bella because of him. Hell I'd break them anyways, fucker would regret the day he messed with me or anyone I loved.

We spent the next couple of hours pacing the floor, looking for more clues in the evidence, and waiting to hear from the Military. I had just about reached the end of my patience and was ready to call anyone and everyone I knew who were still in the Special Forces to see if I could beg for a favor and get us the satellite access sooner, when Erikson came in and informed us that there had been a sighting of Jake's jeep called in on the tip line. He said that it had been spotted by a jogger whose dog ran off and when chasing after his dog, he saw the jeep. It was about four hours away down in Seaside, Oregon. Erikson informed us that it was also not far from the crash site of the transport van.

However it was what he'd told us next that had my hopes up and ready to take some action.

"We may have just gotten a big break," Erikson said while scratching his chin through the thick beard he sported. "I was prepared to let the local authorities check out the call about the jeep, but I have been informed that the body of our missing prison guard, McMillan, has been located as well."

"Where?" Emmett and I asked almost simultaneously.

"That's where it gets interesting."

"Stop beating around the fucking bush and tell us so we can go get Bella," I demanded. It pissed me off that he seemed to think we had all the time in the world. He had to know that Black and Reynolds would want to get out of the country as fast as they could. For all we knew they could already be long gone. Even if Jake's jeep was found there was no guarantee that they hadn't simply left it behind.

"Come look at this map," he ordered.

Over the next few minutes Erikson pointed out the location of the crash in relation to where the body had been found. Not only had the body been found, but a pretty fast boat was there too. The location of the crash was close to the river which would have made it an easy escape route for Reynolds. It had been dark out so the river would have been a perfectly planned escape route to get them out of the immediate area. The boat and the body were found about forty-five minutes away in an area where a getaway car could have easily been left undetected and waiting for them. It was also near the highway which would be taken to get to the town where Black's jeep had been spotted. The part that was of greatest concern was that there were two small airports nearby the town of Seaside, Oregon and it was also located right on the ocean. Both could be used as possible means to leave the country.

"When do we leave?" I asked, ready to go find Bella.

"I can't get approval to send a full-fledged operation down there yet. But I can send a couple of men to check out the leads that we have been given. So if you and McCarty are ready I can have a chopper available to go in thirty minutes," Erikson told us.

"Get that bird ready to fly," I told him instantly.

Erikson left to make the call to get the chopper ready. Meanwhile Emmett and I got suited up to go. As I pulled the Kevlar vest over my head and tightened the strap to secure it, I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins. This was what we had been waiting for. I just knew it. All my gut instincts were telling me that it was. _Hang on Sweetness, I'm coming for you._

We finished suiting up, each of us with two guns, handcuffs and a knife, along with wireless earpieces for communicating with one another. There was no telling if Reynolds had more men besides Black involved in this shit-storm he had created. Once we were ready to go, Erikson came to walk with us up to the rooftop where the helipad was located.

Standing there, leaning next to the door which led to the stairwell was Charlie.

"Edward I know you are in a hurry and I understand. But could I have just a moment with you?" he asked.

"We'll wait in the stairwell. Be quick," Erikson stated and he and Emmett went through the doorway.

Thinking I was about to get the 'don't fuck up again' speech from Bella's father, I started to speak first. "Look, I know I—"

"You've done nothing but keep my daughter safe for months now. I was wrong yesterday to accuse you of letting this happen. I've seen the video footage timestamp and I've seen the time of her call to you on her cell phone." Charlie paused for a minute and then let out a long sigh as he rubbed his forehead. _Guess I wasn't the only one with telltale nervous habits. _

When he began talking again, he spoke a bit more hesitantly than before, "Um…I'm no good at this apology stuff. I know my daughter can be quite stubborn when she wants too. She gets it from her Italian heritage. Maybe a little from her father too," he mumbled with a slight smile. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, even if you had been on your way to go down to her, unless Bella would have stayed put in the Doctor's office, there was very little chance of you getting to her before Black did. So I just wanted to get that off my chest. When I'm wrong, I say I'm wrong. Now go get our girl and bring her back to us."

I could see all his emotions written all over his face. His voice had cracked a few times towards the end of his speech and knowing how difficult this was on me, I knew that it was just as hard if not harder on him and the rest of Bella's family. I was certain this was a side of Charlie Swan that wasn't seen often or by anyone outside his family. _Family. _Perhaps he already considered me part of his. I knew that I wanted it to be that way. But first I had to bring Bella home.

"That's exactly what I intend to do," I stated resolutely. He nodded and then I was out the door.

The flight to the airport in Seaside, Oregon took close to two hours. On the way Emmett talked about our game plan and he had told me that he shared the same gut feeling that I had. This was _it._ We normally would have landed the copter at a location closer to the house, but with a small airport so close to where we believed Reynolds and Black to be, it was a good possibility they had made some sort of travel arrangements. And as much as I wanted to get to that house and get Bella away from them, we needed to make sure to take away any viable means for them to leave the country. So by doing it this way we could check the airport out first and put a stop to any flights they may have set up.

Once we landed, we did some quick digging around at the airport and learned that there was a small plane chartered under the last name of McMillan due to take off for South America this afternoon. Knowing this was the last name of the dead prison guard, it only solidified the gut instinct that Emmett and I shared. It was show time. We called Erikson and let him know what we'd discovered at the airport. He said he'd get on the horn to the airport and contact the proper authorities there and give official orders to ground all air traffic there as well as the small airport to the north of Seaside. Erikson next told us he would send some of the agents who were close by conducting the search for Reynolds over to the airport incase Reynolds and Black showed up.

We then got in the vehicle that Erikson had arranged to be waiting for us. The car was equipped with a navigation system so after inputting the location of where Jake's jeep had been sighted we were on our way. About twenty minutes into the thirty minute ride, we got word from Erikson that the Military's GPS System had located the chip in Bella's ring and it was determined to be at the same location where Jake's jeep had been spotted. He said that if Bella was still wearing the ring, that's where she was and that a full tactical team was on the way. I refused to believe that there was any other explanation for the ring's location. It had to still be on Bella; I knew she wouldn't take it off willingly.

With the sudden thought that the ring could have been discovered and taken away from Bella, I barked at Emmett to drive faster. It would certainly explain why Sam had had such a hard time tracking it.

Arriving at the location, we drove past it in order to not look suspicious. Our first thoughts were that we'd have to come up on the house from the back since the front of it was almost entirely glass. We couldn't see the jeep from the street, but it could easily be parked behind the house. The house was surrounded by a field of tall grass so that would aid in our cover. We parked the car a ways down the street, out of the view of the house. Not wanting to take any chance on being seen from the front, Emmett and I made our way through the tall grass field. As we got closer to the house, we angled our direction more towards it, but kept back a far enough distance so we weren't spotted.

Once we were in the area of the field directly behind the house, I took my position on the right side of the house and Emmett stayed on the left. We then slowly moved in closer proximity to it. We were about the length of a football field away from the back of the house when we spotted the jeep Jake had been seen leaving the federal building's parking garage in. _Some FBI agent_, I thought to myself. He didn't even have the common sense to ditch the jeep for another vehicle.

Emmett and I began to move slowly closer to the house. We were about to take off and make a run up to the back of it when I noticed a movement from the right side near a window. I was shocked and thrilled when I saw Bella climbing out of the window. My heart was pounding in my chest at the sight of her. Love, relief, fear she would be discovered were just a few of the emotions that were coursing through my veins. I had prayed that she had been able to keep her head clear and get through this nightmare of a situation and seeing her being able to be in the frame of mind to make an escape told me she had done just that. I watched as she sat perched on the window ledge and then jumped the short distance to the ground. Not wanting to waste any time in getting to her Emmett and I picked up our pace, nearly running in her direction. We didn't want to scream and alert anyone to her escape or our arrival so we kept quiet.

Bella looked around and started to walk around the side of the house to the back. She had just made her way past the jeep when we saw Jake come out of the house carrying a couple of bags. I reached for my gun to take him out, but he moved and my view became blocked by the jeep. Bella must have heard him because she stopped and spun around looking behind her. This allowed him enough time to close the distance between them. She made a move to spin back around and take off but he reached out and grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back to him. The mutt was lucky I didn't have a clear shot 'cause I would have taken him out right then. Giving her hair a hard tug and jerking her head in the process, he pulled her around the side of the house and out of our view. _Fucker was going to pay dearly for that._

I was pissed at what I had just seen and I was pissed that we hadn't been able to reach her before she had been discovered.

"Hey," Emmett said when seeing my frustration. "He didn't spot us and we know she's here and obviously doing just fine. We're going to go in there and get her."

"I know, but if he hurts her…I swear I'll kill him Emmett."

"And I'll be right behind you."

We moved closer to the house and were surprised when Jake came back out with a couple of duffle bags in his hands. Emmett was in position to take a shot on him, but when one of us stepped on a twig causing it to snap, Jake's head snapped up and as soon as he saw Emmett he took off running. Emmett was behind him and appeared to be closing the gap between them.

Knowing it was likely only Reynolds was there with Bella now, I moved closer to the house. I began walking slowly around the side of the house with my gun in hand and ready to fire. I paused next to the window to take a peek inside. I could see into the kitchen and see James talking to Bella where she sat cuffed to the kitchen table. He had a gun pointed at her so I knew I had to think carefully about my next move. If I made just one tiny mistake, she could get caught in the line of fire between us and that was just unacceptable.

**~*BPOV*~**

"Let go of my hair you bastard," I growled at Jake as he pulled me back into the house. I had been so close and now neither one of them would be likely to let me out of their sight. But I refused to give up. Edward and the others surely must be close to locating me. I'd been gone overnight and they had to be on our trail by now.

"What the fuck's going on in here?" came Reynolds' harsh voice as he walked into the room. He must have heard the front door slam shut as I struggled to get my hair free from Jake's huge paws.

"Look what I found outside trying to get away," Jake quipped, tugging on my hair again. I stomped on his foot causing a few curse words to spill from his mouth.

"Cuff her to the table in the kitchen so we can keep an eye on her. She seems to be quite resourceful when we leave her alone," he told Jake.

Jake did as he was told, pulling me to the table and shoving me down in a chair before he cuffed me to the leg of it. It was rather sickening how he followed Reynolds' orders like he was some lost puppy who needed to be trained.

Both men left the room and when I'd heard the front door open and close again I figured Jake had gone outside to do whatever it was he had been out there for before. I took the few minutes of alone time to try and devise a way to get free again. I slid my free hand under the table to see if by any chance there was a bolt holding it on and if maybe it was loose enough to turn with my hands. There was but it was tightly held in place. However what I did notice was that the cuff secured to the table slid freely up and down the slender piece of wood that made up the leg—something I may have noticed last night had Jake not drugged my food, causing me to pass out.

I was about to see if I could slide the cuff to the floor and use my back as leverage to lift the table leg off it, when I felt every hair on the back of my neck stand on end, alerting me to the fact I wasn't alone in the kitchen anymore. The feeling I got was the same dirty, eerie, disgusting feeling I'd had earlier when the two evil pricks had come into the bedroom I was in and the same one I got every time I had encountered James Reynolds in the past. The foul creature made my skin crawl.

"Oh you have quite a bit of determination in you, my lovely Isabella. I can't wait to break that spirit of yours and make you realize who your new master is," he hissed from where he was standing behind me with his retched face hovering next to my ear.

"Never," I vowed and pulled my head away from him.

His next statement caused my breath to catch in my chest. "Oh you will, my dear Isabella. You see I have a plane ready to fly us off to a place where you will never be seen or heard from again. And your only alternative choice will be to meet the same fate as the others."

I didn't have to ask what he meant by the others. I knew all too well that he was referring to the women he had raped and murdered. _God please let Edward be here soon_, I prayed silently in my head.

"Then you may as well kill me now and get it over with, because I will never give myself to you."

"Oh you say that now while you think you still have a chance of them finding you. But I promise you a great amount of thought was put into my plan to make sure they wouldn't. The FBI is full of fools and idiots who can be bought for the right price. Look at your fellow federal agent, Jacob Black. He was all too willing to do my bidding when he saw how much I was willing to pay," he said while laughing sinisterly.

I was beginning to worry a bit, but I refused to let him see it. So I sat there and maintained my calm exterior as I nervously twirled the ring on my finger under the table where he couldn't see.

My mind began overflowing with questions but there was one at the forefront. "Why me?" I asked him. "Is this about revenge for getting you to confess?"

"No, my dear. That has nothing to do with it. Don't you see? It's all about her, your likeness to her!" he said as he said as he lifted my chin and forced me to look up at him. I tried to pull away unable to stand the feeling of his hands on me, but he held my face in firmly place.

Again I knew exactly who he was talking about. Sarah. His girlfriend who had died several years ago. The only woman who he had been involved with, whose death he was not responsible for. That realization hit me like a Mac truck. If I didn't get out of this mess, I would end up meeting the same fate as they had because it would be over my dead body before I would cave to his demands. There was only one man, if you could even consider Reynolds a man, whose hands I wanted on me and James Reynolds would never amount to fraction of the man that Edward was. I realized I had to stall for time. The longer we were here, the better the chance of us being found. At the moment with him hovering around me, there was only one option I had. Use the same thing I had done with Jake—talk to him.

"Tell me about her," I said to him.

He left go of my face and walked over to the window and looked out before turning and beginning to speak. But just before he had let go of my face, I had caught a glimpse of the haunted expression he had let take him over, even if only momentarily. I could feel the pain and sorrow oozing out of him as he began to speak again in a much softer tone than before. It was a side of him I had never seen before in all the visits I'd had with him in the prison. Sarah was his weakness. "She's been here, you know."

"Really?" I asked, trying to keep him talking and wasting time away.

"Yes. This was my family's vacation home. We used to come here every summer. The last time I was here, she was too. We had been spending the weekend here with my family. She didn't know about my past. About how the bitch that had given birth to me had run off and ruined my and my father's lives. She wanted to go apple picking."

The mention of apples had me sincerely curious. I had always wondered why he had chosen them. Other than the fact they were known as the forbidden fruit in ancient Biblical times and I thought that he had viewed me similarly.

"And you didn't," I said prompting him to continue.

"No. It was a painful reminder."

When I asked him what reminder he told me how his mother and his father had a successful apple orchard not far from here in Woodland, Washington. He said that was all ruined when his mother, who was a lying cheating whore, ran off with another man and took every penny that his family had to their name with her. How she had emptied their bank accounts and got cash advances on all their credit cards, leaving them nothing. His father in his deep depression over being left as they were let the business nearly waste away. However when they thought they were going to end up destitute, one of the local owners of another orchard offered to buy theirs from his father. Wanting to move on and start a new life his father took the offer.

Reynolds then told me how they moved to Olympia and never looked back. A couple of years later his father met his now deceased stepmother. They married shortly after and in order to completely absolve himself of the life he had before and really start over, his father took his new wife's last name and changed James' last name right after. This explained to me his double identity that Jake had spoken of last night. Reynolds then went on about how his father and stepmother bought the beach house we were currently in and they spent their summers there. He said how he gave in to Sarah and took her apple picking; she loved them and he had always refused to let her even buy them in the store. They had seen several signs indicating the large amount of orchards in the area on the way to the beach house and she begged him to go. He said he finally gave in and that it was a day he would regret for the rest of his life. Sarah had been horsing around and climbed one of the trees. When she got a little too daring while doing so, she slipped and fell from the tree. The paramedics were never sure if it was when she smacked her head on a large branch as she fell or if it was when she hit the ground, but she died a few days later from severe head trauma.

"If you hated apples so much, then why did you send them to me?"

"Because she loved them. And if I hadn't denied her them, maybe she wouldn't have been so adamant about going that day and I wouldn't have lost her. So since you remind me so much of her, I thought you might like them too."

His mood had become rather somber. I felt an almost eerie calm coming from him. However my next statement completely washed that away. His anger once again took him by full force when I took what he thought was a loving caring gesture and ripped it to shreds. "I hate them and hope I never see one again. You ruined that for me the first time you sent them."

I regretted the words the second they came out of my mouth because he lunged at me. I prepared myself for what I was sure was going to be a painful blow, but it never came. Instead I watched as he stopped suddenly and stormed outside hollering for Jake and asking him what was taking him so long. The way he had stopped so suddenly and his head had snapped towards the window, it was almost as if something outside had caught his attention.

Not sure why he suddenly took off like he did, I knew I didn't have long. I scooted off the chair and slid the cuff to the floor. I then wedged myself under it and pushed up until my back was pressed against the underside of the table. I then lifted the table just enough that I could pull the cuff off the table leg. After getting out from under the table, I began to look around the room for some sort of weapon. Jake had cooked here so there were dishes and utensils and I hoped maybe I'd find a big knife or at least something heavy enough for hitting him with.

As I pulled open a few drawers and had no luck, I began to think about taking off out the sliding glass door located in the kitchen. But the problem with that was I had no idea where either Satan or his minion were and I didn't want to end up back in the same situation again.

When I pulled open the next drawer, I felt like I had won the lottery. My pulse began to race causing my heart to hammer in my chest and I had to fight back the urge to scream in glee with what I had found. Lying in the drawer was a small handgun. I took it out and checked it to see if it was loaded. Yes it was; I removed the safety and went to stand next to the wall by the entrance to the kitchen where I couldn't be seen. I thought again about going out the back door now that I had the gun, but if they saw me before I saw them, I would lose the element of surprise and they both had guns too. I didn't want to get shot.

When I heard someone coming I stood ready to fire and shoot either one of them if they made any move towards me. I was prepared for Jake or Reynolds to come walking into the kitchen, but not at all for what I actually saw.

There was nothing that could've prepared me for the sight of Reynolds ushering Edward in with a gun to the back of his head. _No no no no no no_. Was the word that kept flying through my head. This was not how this was supposed to go. This fucker had messed with me enough and now he had a gun pointed at my man's head. All I needed was one chance, one slip-up by him and his ass was as good as dead. If it weren't for the fact that James had a gun pointed at Edward's head, I would have already pulled the trigger. But I was worried about him accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting Edward. I took a deep breath and told myself. _Keep your cool, Bella. This bastard is getting too cocky and will make a mistake. And when he does, he will pay._

"Where is she, you bastard? You said she was in here," Edward growled.

"It seems that the lovely Isabella is quite resourceful and has a knack for escaping. If she's not here then I will have no other choice than to go ahead and kill you," Reynolds stated snidely as if it would give him great pleasure to do it. I had no doubt that it would too.

When Edward tried to jerk and pull away from Reynolds, Reynolds smacked him in the head with the butt of the gun, causing me to gasp and alert them to where I was.

"There she is," Reynolds said excitedly as if he were on some kind of mental high. "Oh and look, she has found herself a weapon too. I will have to make sure I keep a close eye on you until I have you completely broken in, my pet. You are far far too good at this." He sneered as he tightened his hold on Edward and forced him to kneel, execution style on the floor by pressing the end of the gun into his head.

"Now, my dear, I suggest unless you want to see pretty boy's brains splattered on the floor right now, you put the gun down and walk away from it."

"Don't do it, Bella. Get yourself out of here and don't worry about me," Edward begged me while his face contorted with concern for my safety.

"Shut the fuck up," Reynolds ordered him as he poked him in the head with the gun again. I was terrified that if he kept smacking him with the gun he was going to fire it by mistake.

"I…I can't leave you here. And where's Jake?" I rasped as my voice shook with fear over watching the man I loved with all my heart have his life threatened.

I started to bend over and set the gun on the floor when Edward called out to me again, "No, Bella. Jake's gone, he ran off. Emmett is after him and there is help on the way. Go now."

"I told you to shut up," Reynolds bellowed, hitting Edward yet again.

I looked up at Reynolds and then back at Edward. Staring into his eyes I saw nothing but his love for me. "This is it, Sweetness! Go save yourself," Edward begged.

"Oh this is so touching, it's utterly sickening," Reynolds cackled and then began to laugh hysterically. He was clearly losing his mind. His emotions were so out of control it was almost disorienting for me. One minute he was smug and callous and the next was full of pity and then in another he was like a raging lunatic. As he laughed, his hand holding the gun moved away from Edward's head and I thought he was going to hit him again. But when he didn't and his hand dropped to his side, I didn't waste another minute. I wasn't sure what the hell he found so amusing, god knows he would never sacrifice himself for another, but I didn't much care about that right now. This might be my one chance and I was going to take it.

Edward saw me raise my gun and sensing what I was about to do, ducked his head. Taking a deep breath to steady my hands, I raised the gun and fired it, aiming first for Reynolds' head and then shooting him in the chest two more times. I was making damn sure he was never getting back up again.

The second his body slumped to the floor, Edward jumped up on to his feet and kicked away the gun that was still in Reynolds' crumpled body's hand.

Now that I knew Edward was safe—I was safe—all the emotions I had been holding back came rushing forward and overwhelming me. I dropped to my knees and sobbed as I let the gun I was holding slip out of my hand.

**~*EPOV*~**

As soon as I heard the thud of Reynolds' body hitting the floor behind me, I moved quickly to remove the gun he'd been holding. Bella had shot him at least three times and I didn't think he was getting up any time soon, if ever. But I wanted to be sure he didn't have any chance whatsoever to fire back in retaliation.

After I kicked the gun away from his lifeless looking body, I checked the artery on the side of his neck for a pulse. He was dead and I wasn't the least bit sorry. Death was too easy for him in my opinion. After what he'd done to end up in jail and how he tormented Bella. He should have to suffer far worse than the quick death Bella had just given him.

With Reynolds dead, Bella was my only concern. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly against me. Her small body shook with her sobs as she let loose all the emotions she had been holding back. I knew it couldn't have been easy for her to keep herself together, but she had and I was so damn proud of her.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated several times as she cried against my neck. I could feel the wetness from her tears soaking through my shirt.

I couldn't let her do this to herself, she had done nothing wrong at all. "Shhhh, Sweetness," I whispered against her hair as I held her even tighter. "It's all over now. You've got nothing to be sorry about. I love you and I've got you. I'm never letting you go again."

"I love you too," I felt her mumble against my neck as she slipped her arms up around my neck and clung to me as if her life depended on it. I stood, picking her up in my arms as I did, and carried her into the other room. As I sat down on the couch with her, she loosened her hold on me and sat back a bit allowing her to look up at me.

With tears still streaming down her cheeks and her chin quivering, she asked, "It's really over?"

"Yes, Bella. It's really over. He's dead," I told her as I used the pads of my thumbs to wipe away her tears.

"Oh, God," she cried. "I was beginning to think I might not ever see you again. The things he said to me—" Her words were cut off as she got choked up again. I couldn't imagine the horrible things that sick fucker must have said to her. It made my blood boil inside.

"Hey," I said softly as I reached up to cup her face in my hands. Reigning in my anger at the monster lying on the floor in the other room so I could take care of her, I said, "It's _really_ over. He can _never_ say or do anything to hurt you again."

I pressed a soft kiss to her lips, while fighting back the urge to give her a much more powerful kiss. There would be plenty of time for that later. Right now I had to make sure she was ok. I had been so worried about her and in the end she was the one who had saved my life.

"Where's Jake? And are you ok? He hit you so hard. When can we go home?" The words tumbled out of her mouth as her hands slid up into my hair and she ran her fingers over my scalp, searching for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine. What's important now, Sweetness, is you. Did either one of them hurt you, Bella? I swear to God, I'll kill that fucking mutt for even looking at you. I saw him—" I had to stop myself as anger welled in me again as I thought about seeing Jake grab her by the hair earlier. I'd also avoided answering her question about Jake, not wanting her to be upset or worried that Emmett hadn't returned with him yet. There was no way he'd get anywhere near her again.

"No I'm fine, just shaken up a bit. Wait. You said you saw? What did you see?" she asked shakily as she pulled her hands from my hair. I figured she had determined that no harm had come to me from the couple of times Reynolds had smacked me with his gun. I was about to explain seeing her climb out the window, but then she gasped and cried out, "Oh God, Edward you're bleeding."

I turned my gaze down to the hand she was staring at and sure enough there was a smear of fresh blood on it. I took her hand that had the blood from my head on it and wiped the blood off onto my shirt. Then I pulled her into my arms again. "It's ok, I'm ok. It's probably just a small cut from when he hit me. Just let me hold you," I whispered to her as I began to rock her back and forth in my arms. I loved her so much and she may have only been gone a day but it felt like years. I didn't want to let her go ever again.

Sitting there clutching each other, I knew I should probably go after Emmett and see if he needed help apprehending Black, but I couldn't force myself to let go of Bella. She was the only thing that mattered to me right now.

A few minutes later the sound of several vehicles coming down the street alerted us to the fact that we weren't alone any more. At the same time I also heard a chopper flying overhead.

"You ready to get out of here and go home?" I asked my Sweetness.

"Am I ever," she replied.

I gently slid her off my lap. We both stood while never completely letting go of one another. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her against my side as we made our way to the door.

There were several police vehicles, a large black SUV and a couple of ambulances but no sign of Emmett. We were ordered to stop and put our hands up as we began to exit the house, but Erikson recognized us immediately and quickly made his way to us as we walked towards the cars. Right behind him was Charlie and as soon as Bella saw him she was running to her father.

While Bella took a few minutes to assure her father that she was ok, I filled Erikson in briefly on what had taken place, knowing there'd be time later for a full debriefing statement to be made. Bella and Charlie came over to where we were and Erikson talked with Bella for a few minutes as well to get a quick statement from her. He also took the time to make sure she was ok. I could tell he wasn't too happy about her refusing to be checked out at the hospital, but she demanded that she was ok and was not going to go. My Sweetness still had that fire in her and I was extremely happy to see it. I didn't want her to have any lasting effects from this ordeal to haunt her. I knew that it would take time for her to move past it all, but I was confident that she would. We would do it together. Once Erikson left us to go in the house and take command of the crime scene, Bella didn't let me get away with not having my head looked at. The paramedics checked it out and after cleaning it, determined that stitches were not needed.

A movement brought my attention to the field behind the house. I saw off in the distance Emmett and another agent bringing in Jacob Black. There was something I needed to do and I knew that it had to be now because once he was in custody or even within sight of Erikson and the other feds, I'd never get the chance.

Bella was standing with her back against me with my arms wrapped around her as she filled her father in on what had taken place. I turned Bella to face me and asked her, "You trust me right?"

"Of course, with my life. Why are you asking me this?" I could see the worry and confusion on her face, but I knew she'd try and stop me as well.

"I have something I have to take care of real fast. Stay right here with your father. I will be right back. I promise," I said kissing her on the forehead.

"Edward, wait…where are you—"

"Please just stay here. I'll tell you later, I promise. Just give me a few minutes."

I could see she was still confused as hell as I handed her over to her father. Judging by the raised eyebrow and smirk on his face as he glanced in the direction of the house, Charlie was very aware of what I was about to do. When he gave me a slight nod, I knew for sure.

As I reached the house, Emmett, Black and the other agent were coming around the back corner of it. I walked up to them and asked for Emmett to allow me a minute to say a few things to Black. He hesitated for a moment but then told the other agent he could handle it from there on.

Emmett kept Jake back behind the house as the other agent walked away. I wasted no time in taking care of what I wanted.

"How can you help a monster like that torment a woman as wonderful as Bella, or any other human being for that matter?" I growled at him. He started to open his mouth and say something, but I held up my hand to stop him. "You know what? It doesn't fucking matter. You are no better than the fucking monster that is lying in that house dead. There's only one more thing I have to say to you."

He looked at me and snorted as if he was saying fuck off. And that was all it took for me to lose my temper that I'd been trying to hold back for the last few hours. I really hadn't planned on hitting him, but in that moment I couldn't hold back the fist that had been balled up at my side since I'd seen him. I pulled back my cocked fist and then let loose. Not just once, but with three or four punches to his face. I'd lost count and planned to keep going but Emmett stopped me.

When Emmett pulled me off of him, Jake stood and through his bloodied teeth he said, "You'll fucking pay for that."

I looked at him and said, "Who the fuck are you going to tell? Who do you think they are going to believe? And even if you got to tell it in court, there's not a fucking jury on this planet that would convict me after they've learned what the hell you have done. So go ahead, tell the whole damn world."

I turned and walked away not wanting to be away from Bella any longer. She lunged at me and practically threw herself back into my arms once I was close enough to her. When she saw Jake and Emmett approaching us, she looked between them and me and lifted my hand, inspecting it for damage. She knew exactly what I'd been up to the second she saw Jake's bloody mouth.

Placing a soft kiss on my reddened knuckles she didn't even question me. She simply stood up on her tiptoes and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too, Sweetness." Her accepting what I had done to Jake so easily told me that she would have loved to have done the same thing given the chance. Maybe I should have kicked him in the balls for her while I was at it.

We watched as Emmett brought Jake over to be transported back to Seattle. Emmett had a very smug and satisfied look on his face which instantly turned into a huge smile the moment he laid eyes on Bella. I knew he cared about her, loved her like a sister and had been just as worried about her as I was.

Erikson made sure that Black had been properly mirandized and was fully aware of his rights. Black indicated that he refused to talk without an attorney present. It was a smart move on his part, however I wasn't sure how much an attorney was going to be able to do for him. There was a growing amount of evidence against him compounded by the fact that he had kidnapped a federal agent. He was going away for a long long time.

As soon as Emmett had Black secured in the vehicle he had Bella in his arms and was spinning in circles with her. Her face lit up as she giggled from his response to seeing her. I smiled as I listened; it was an amazing sound to hear. I had briefly overheard Emmett when he was talking to Erikson as he got filled in on the events that had taken place in the house behind us. I was sure he had been quite pleased to hear that Reynolds would never walk the face of this earth again.

A short while later, we were given the all clear to head back to Seattle. Erikson and the others had to stay and make sure the crime scene was handled properly as well as Reynolds' body. I hadn't even noticed that it had been removed from the house and put into one of the ambulance bays until I saw the paramedic shutting the doors to it and caught a glimpse of the black body bag. It wasn't a welcoming sight, but that man had sealed his own fate a long time ago.

Emmett stayed behind with Erikson while Bella, her father and I headed to the airport for our flight home. _Home_. If there was one thing I had become even more certain of throughout this ordeal, it was that home was wherever Bella was, and as long as we were together, where we lived didn't matter.

**There you go. Edward has his Sweetness back. Loved it, hated it, let me know. Thanks for reading. Don't forget to check out the links I mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. **

**See you next week,**

**EA  
**


	25. Bless the Broken Road

**Good morning and TGIF! Thank you to Hope4more and My-Bella for making this chapter pretty.**

** I have some exciting news to share. Not only has TLA been nominated to be this month's read along fic on the Indie Fic Pimp blog, it has also been nominated for several awards on the Inspired Fan Fic blog site. So if you are so inclined, show TLA some love and pop on over their sites and vote for it. Here are the links to them both. Just remember to remove the parenthesis ( ) from around the dots. **

**Indie Fic Pimp blog, http:/indieficpimp(.)blogspot(.)com/?zx=595aa3cb9f67509c**

**Inspired Fan Fic Awards, http:/inspiredfanficawards(.)blogspot(.)com/zx=42ef56fa1c9ae42**

**And last but not least, my one shot in the Valentine's Day countdown is up now. The title is My Forever Valentine and is chapter 15. **.net/s/6618121/15/

**As always, Stephenie Meyer owns it all. Well except for the two tickets I have to see Matt Cullen of the Minnesota Wild play hockey against the St. Louis Blues tonight. **

_I think about the years I spent, just passing through  
I'd like to have the time I lost, and give it back to you  
But you just smile and take my hand  
You've been there, you understand  
It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true_

_Every long lost dream led me to where you are  
Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars  
Pointing me on my way into your loving arms  
This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

_But now I'm just rolling home into my lover's arms  
This much I know is true_

_That God blessed the broken road  
That led me straight to you_

_**Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts**_

**~*EPOV*~**

_**July 31, 2010**_

It didn't surprise me that Bella was completely exhausted by the time we reached my parents' house. I had watched her fight to stay awake on the nearly two hour helicopter flight back to Seattle. With her head resting in the crook of my arm as she snuggled against me, her eyes would close and she'd start to nod off. However the moment her head would slump forward she would pop back up only to do it again about fifteen minutes later. I was pretty worn out myself and was hoping with Bella back by my side, I'd sleep much better tonight than I had last night. Hopefully we both did.

Charlie had called Bella's mother just before we had taken off from the small airport in Seaside, to let them know when to expect us. I had heard Renee's cries of relief and joy while he talked to her. With everyone waiting anxiously for us, we had hardly been able to take two steps in the door before everyone in my family as well as hers descended upon us. A fountain of tears began pouring down Renee's face the second she saw her daughter. It was a heartwarming moment to see the two of them embrace each other as Renee made sure her daughter was in satisfactory condition. The sight of everyone gathered around Bella in my parents' living room reminded me of a football team huddled together on the field discussing what play they'd run next, but instead there were whispered words of love being passed around.

Everyone was here. Bella's brother, his wife Jane, their little boy Landon, as well as Alice and Jasper who had just returned from their honeymoon. It took several minutes of hugs and kisses and the opportunity for Bella's mom, Nana and my mother to all check Bella out thoroughly before they were completely satisfied she was ok and still in one piece. Once they were finished my mother suggested that Bella and I stay there for the night in order to let Bella have some time with her family. She knew I only had the one extra bedroom at my place, and here there was room for everyone.

"Are you hungry, Sweetheart?" my mother asked Bella. I could see the tears shining in her eyes as she pulled Bella to her for another hug and ran her hand over Bella's hair in a soothing motherly manner. It warmed me inside to see just how much my parents had come to care for Bella in the short time they had known her. I could see that my mother already loved her as if she were one of her own children. It was a new experience to see my mother take to someone so quickly. She warmed up to Jasper pretty fast and had always appeared to like all of the girls I had brought home to meet them. Both of my parents had always been fond of Chelsea since her and Alice were such close friends and they were just as close to Chelsea's parents. But I had never seen them, especially my mother, embrace any of those other women the way she had Bella and that made me extremely happy. Bella fit in perfectly. She belonged here.

When Bella and my mother separated from their warm embrace, Bella answered her, "I am hungry, but more than anything I'd really love to shower. Maybe Edward and I could go home to freshen up and then come right back."

"You don't have to leave for that. Come with me," my sister said taking Bella's hand and pulling her towards the stairs. "I'm sure I can find something for you in my old room."

Bella nodded and smiled at Alice before looking at me as if she needed some sort of reassurance. I quickly realized that as much as Bella wanted a shower, she wasn't ready to be separated from me. Wanting to make sure Bella was ok I stopped my sister saying, "Just a second, Alice." I then took Bella in my arms and placed a soft kiss on her lips and said to her, "I will be right down here waiting for you or if you want I can wait a little bit and come up after you've showered. You can use the one in my old room." I didn't want to let her out of my sight yet either, but I knew she'd be just upstairs and I wanted to allow her the space to do what she needed without smothering her.

"Will you come up soon? I just want to have a few minutes alone with you." She had a somewhat lost look in her eyes and it tore at my heart to see her feeling that way. I should have completely dismembered Jacob Black when I had my hands on him earlier. Any jail sentence he would receive for what he'd done would never be harsh enough to satisfy me.

"Anything you want, Sweetness, it's yours. Just tell me what you need. If you need time to yourself, or for us, whatever it is, I'll make sure you get it. Ok?" I told her with my forehead resting against hers. She nodded her reply and as she did I stole another quick kiss and then sent her off with my sister.

About ten minutes later Alice joined us back downstairs. I couldn't help asking about Bella. "Is she ok?"

"Yeah, I think so. She's in the shower now and wants you to come up in a few minutes. She's in your old room," Alice said with an expression on her face that told me she was able to see that even though we were happy to be with our family, we also needed some time for ourselves. It was also easy to see how much she was growing to care for Bella too.

"Did you find something for her to wear or should I run over to the loft?"

"No she's good," she said with a snicker.

"What's so funny?"

"You'll see. Let's just say that I never imagined putting together an outfit from a combination of my clothes and yours, but for right now it works. She wanted comfort and she will definitely have that."

I could only imagine what kind of an outfit Alice had concocted for Bella, but if Bella was ok with it then who was I to argue. Besides, Alice had said that part of it was from my clothing and I loved more seeing my Sweetness in my clothes.

I waited until I was certain I had heard the water shut off and I'd given Bella enough time to get dressed. Her father had been very understanding, but I didn't want to test his limits by blatantly entering a room where I knew his daughter was more than likely partially or completely naked. _Even if that was exactly what I wanted to do. _

So while everyone else migrated into the kitchen to either finish cooking dinner or setting up the dining room, I snuck upstairs to see my girl.

As I reached the door to my old room I found it partially open so I went right in. I could see the light on in the bathroom still and walked over to the doorway. Leaning against the doorframe, I watched as Bella used a towel to dry her hair. I didn't recognize the brush she picked up and knew she must have gotten it from Alice. When she reached up and started to run it through her hair I couldn't resist the urge to do it myself.

I walked up behind her and caught her hand in mine. She jumped at first when she felt my body behind her, but then relaxed slightly when she realized it was me. Her reaction to me had me concerned about the details of what she'd been through. She had promised me that neither Reynolds nor Black had hurt her physically, but she had never been this jumpy around me before. It was something I would have to keep an eye on. Maybe it was just part of her dealing with it all and in a short time she would be able to begin to move past it.

"Mind if I do it?" I asked placing a kiss on her shoulder that was revealed by the oversized shirt of mine she was wearing. She answered by relinquishing her hold on the brush. Bella had on a pair of black leggings, a dark grey V neck shirt of mine that fit her like a short dress and to top it all off a pair of pink fuzzy socks. I could see why Alice had found the outfit so amusing, but Bella was completely adorable, even slightly sexy in the getup she was wearing.

While I was running the brush through her hair, she closed her eyes and had a soft smile on her face. I could feel her relaxing more with each stroke of her hair. I loved her hair and loved the feeling of the long silken tresses slipping through my fingers. When I was done she leaned back against me and pulled my arms around her like she was wrapping a blanket around her body.

I walked us backward out of the bathroom until I felt my bed behind us. Sitting down, I pulled her onto my lap. "You ok, Sweetness?"

"Mm hmm. Much better now that you are here," she said turning to straddle my lap and face me.

She brushed my hair back off my forehead and then gently ran her fingers over the contours of my face. First my cheeks, then my nose and finally my eyes, as if she was rememorizing them.

"You need to shave," she said with a soft smile.

"I do," I agreed as I planted a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"I missed you so much."

I encased her in my arms and held her to me as tightly as I could without hurting her. "I missed you too. So damn much, Bella."

When we finally loosened our hold on one another, we sat there silently staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like a long time, but I was sure it was only a few minutes. It was like we were staring into each other's soul. I could see in her eyes that there was so much she needed to get out. Things she needed to talk about, but also that maybe she wasn't quite ready to do so just yet, or maybe not right here right now. So I didn't say anything, trusting that when she was ready she would tell me.

Bella was the one to break the silence that had enveloped the room, softly saying, "I love you," as she slid her hands up my arms and linked them together behind my neck.

Pulling her closer to me, I gave her the lopsided grin I knew she loved and just before my lips touched hers I whispered, "I love you too, with all my heart, Bella." We kissed softly for a few minutes and just as she turned her head allowing me to deepen the kiss, there was a knock on the door and the sound of someone clearing their throat. I looked up to see who it was as Bella buried her face against my neck, no doubt trying to hide her embarrassment over the fact we'd been caught like a couple of teenagers making out when we shouldn't be.

My sister was standing in the doorway with an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry, but Mom sent me to tell you guys that dinner is ready."

"We'll be right down," I told her reluctantly. Truth was I wanted to stay exactly where I was with Bella and have her all to myself. I didn't want to let her out of my arms. Alice nodded and left us alone once again.

"Let's go get some food in you," I said as I slowly slid Bella off my lap.

"Ok," she said standing and lacing her fingers with mine as I stood next to her.

We made our way down to the dining room and sat to eat dinner with our families. Bella wasn't kidding when she said her grandmother had a lasagna recipe that was better than any I'd ever had before. Of course I'd never tell my mother that, but it really was that good. We had a salad and some homemade bread that the three women had also managed to make while I was off finding Bella. I refrained from using the word rescue to describe what had occurred today because she had saved me just as much as I had her. I didn't know whether she had learned her gun handling skills from her father or her training in the FBI, but she had one hell of an accurate shot and I was extremely grateful for it. If I lived to be a hundred and seven, I'd never be able to repay her for what she did for me today.

Alice and Jasper filled us in on all the fun things they had seen and done while on their honeymoon in Hawaii. They said they would recommend it for anyone wanting to go for a honeymoon or just a vacation. Also while we all chatted, Bella's brother and his wife Jane shared with us that they had recently learned the baby they were expecting was a girl and they planned to name her Chloe Marie.

The meal continued and we all had fun laughing as both our sets of parents told stories about our childhoods while we ate. Alice had been having fun as she joined in on the storytelling until my parents chimed in with some stories about her as well. Jasper was quite entertained as he heard about a few of the embarrassing moments that Alice had as a child and had neglected to share with him.

Despite being invited to stay here for the night, once dinner was over Bella's brother and his family left. Alec was sorry to leave, wanting to spend more time with his sister, but had an early shift at Forks General in the morning and poor little Landon was struggling to stay awake. His Aunt Bella wasn't far behind him in that category. I could easily see that the small burst of energy her shower and eating had given her was quickly running out of steam.

After Alec had left, Alice and Jasper were quick to follow. They had come straight from the airport and were tired themselves, so they too declined my mother's offer to stay. Alice told Bella to help herself to anything she needed in her old room and invited her for a girl's day out now that she could safely go. With Bella promising to call her soon, and Jasper and I agreeing to catch up at the office on Monday, they were on their way.

We spent about another hour or so talking with our parents and Bella's Nana. The conversation carried much of the same theme our dinner conversation had. Nana was the next one to excuse herself for the evening and soon after Renee got up and did the same for herself and Charlie. They both gave Bella hugs and told her good night before leaving the room. I happened to look over at the stairs as Charlie and Renee started to climb them and caught Charlie looking at me as if he had something on his mind. I had no doubt that if it were important he'd make sure to talk to me before they left to head back to Forks.

With everyone else retiring for the night either to bed, or as in my father's case to his office, I saw it as the perfect opportunity to take Bella upstairs so she could get the rest she needed.

Once we had reached my room, Bella slipped off the leggings she had on along with the crazy socks my sister had given her and climbed up into my bed.

"Would you do me a huge favor," Bella asked as I started to unbutton my jeans.

"Sure, Sweetness, what do you need?"

"I forgot to grab a bottle of water before we came up and I'm really thirsty. Would you go down and get one for me? Pretty please?" she asked with a fake pout that was completely adorable.

"I think I can do that for you."

"Hurry back," she mumbled in between a couple of yawns.

"I promise, Sweetness. I love you."

"I love you too," she managed to get out. I had a feeling she'd be fast asleep before I was back up here with her water.

I kissed her softly and then pulled a t-shirt on real quick and made my way down to the kitchen.

When I returned to my room, Bella was surprisingly still awake. I set the bottle of water on her night stand and then walked around to the other side of the bed. Once I crawled in next to Bella, I covered up and unable to resist having her in my arms any longer, I immediately wrapped them around her and scooted her as close to me as I could get her. Burrowing my face in her hair, I took in a long drag of her scent. She snuggled against me with one leg draped over mine, her head on my chest and her arm wrapped firmly around my waist. After we both exchanged words of love, it wasn't long before I felt Bella's breaths become slow and even, telling me she had fallen asleep. Relishing in the fact that she was here, safe in my arms, I closed my eyes allowing sleep to overtake me too.

The next morning after breakfast, I was leaning against the kitchen counter drinking a cup of coffee while Bella was in the living room busy talking with both our mothers and her Nana.

Charlie came up next to me and asked, "Um, I know this might not exactly be the right place but since we'll be heading home soon, I was wondering if I could have a word with you in private, Edward?" There was a slight twitch in his jaw muscles as he waited for my answer. This told me that this was no casual conversation he wanted to have.

"Sure, why don't we step out on the deck?" I asked as I motioned towards the sliding glass door.

As we both stood at the rail facing the back yard Charlie said, "I'm not going to beat around the bush, Son."

"I wouldn't expect you to," I replied and waited for him to continue.

"Someday if you have a daughter of your own, you will understand why I am having this conversation with you. And I don't mean for you to think that I doubt your feelings for Bella are real. It's crystal clear how much you love her. And even if I'd had any doubts, knowing you were willing to and damn near sacrificed your own life for hers yesterday took care of that. But I think I'd be remiss in fulfilling my duty as her father if I didn't ask you what your long term intentions were."

"To be completely honest with you, Sir, I'd marry Bella tomorrow if she'd have me, and I'd like to think that if I asked she would say yes. But even if I knew for sure she would, I realize that our relationship came about in an extremely unconventional way. I'm also aware of the trust issues Bella has had in the past when it comes to men. She's told me about how she was treated in the past because of her gift. So because of both of those things, I think it would make sense for us to have a somewhat normal relationship where she is free to come and go as she pleases and isn't forced to live with me if she chooses not to."

"So if she chooses to move back to her place, you'd be ok with that?" His eyebrow was raised in a questioning manner.

"Ok with it—hell no. Yes I've asked her to move in with me permanently, but would I try to influence her decision? No. I want her with me more than I can explain. I find it very difficult to describe the hold she has on me. I've never felt anything like it before. I love her with everything I am and at the risk of sounding cheesy or cliché, she completes me and makes me a better person. So when you ask me if I am ok with it, I have to tell you no, because I'm not. However I can promise you that if Bella chooses to move back to her house then I will support her one hundred percent. Her happiness is what's most important to me; right now it's all up to her. I plan to be patient and wait for her to be ready to take that step even if she doesn't want to do it now."

"Thank you for your honesty, Son," Charlie said to me as he raised his cup of coffee to his mouth and took a long sip of it.

Thinking he was finished I nodded and turned to head back inside to Bella. I stopped in front of the sliding glass door and downed the rest of my coffee. Just as I reached for the handle to pull it open, I heard Charlie call out my name. "Edward."

"Yeah," I said turning to face him again.

"When the time comes and you're ready to ask her…" he paused and took the steps across the deck until he was standing in front of me. Holding his hand out for me to shake, he then said, "You have my blessing."

We shook hands and he pulled me into one of those man hugs and chuckled lightly as he said, "Just remember, you hurt her and I'll shoot you."

"Dually noted, Sir," I said unable to hide the smirk that spread across my face from knowing I had his permission to marry Bella.

_**August 2, 2010**_

Yesterday, after Bella's parents and Nana left to head back to Forks, Bella and I went out to lunch with my parents before we made our way back to the loft. The rest of the day had been spent with us next to one another, barely leaving each other's side. Whether we were watching a movie or she was reading a magazine while I was watching the baseball game or whether it was when we drifted to sleep together on the couch for a late afternoon nap, we stayed close to each other.

We had a difficult day ahead of us. Emmett had called last night to let Bella know that while she was not expected to return to work in an official capacity yet, he had received orders from Erikson to inform her that she needed to come in and give her official statement. I had to give my statement as well.

Emmett hadn't given us a time frame so we both slept in. Bella had been quite restless in her sleep last night and a few times had even whimpered loud enough to wake me. She didn't say anything, she had just cried out making whimpering sounds, so I didn't know if she was having bad dreams about what had happened, or over having to give her statement today and recount the whole ordeal she had been through, but she hadn't slept well at all, where as she had slept like a rock the night before at my parents house. I also had the thought that it could be that she only slept so well the night before due to her extreme state of exhaustion.

We got dressed together and when we got downstairs Bella contacted Dr. Bartholomew to see if she could sit in when she gave her statement today. Bella wanted her there so that she would only have to retell the story one time. The doctor had told her yes and that she had a light schedule today, for Bella to let her know when she arrived at the federal building and she would come up to their offices.

After she was finished with the call, Bella insisted on making us breakfast. It crossed my mind that she was stalling a bit, but I couldn't fault her for it. I wasn't so sure I wanted to know all of the details of what had taken place while those two bastards had her. When it came to knowing, I was faced with a bit of a conundrum; I didn't want to know, yet I felt the need to know. She had assured me that they hadn't hurt her in anyway, but that didn't make me feel any better about it at all.

I sat at the breakfast bar and watched her as she cooked the bacon and eggs for us. She was beautiful in the long floral skirt she was wearing with a white sleeveless top and black sweater. She had the front of her hair pulled back from her face, but the rest was hanging down her back in soft natural waves. Seeing it sway side to side gently from time to time as she moved around the kitchen made me want to reach out and run my fingers through it. However, I resisted, knowing that if we dallied around, it was only going to prolong the inevitable and I wanted to get it over with so we could begin to put it behind us.

We ate our breakfast and then cleaned up together before we left. After parking the car, we walked hand in hand through the parking garage. I noticed a distinct change in the tightness with which she was holding my hand as we approached the elevator. I knew she had to be remembering the last time she had walked through the place. Wanting to comfort her and reassure her that she was safe, the minute we were inside the elevator I wrapped her in my arms and held her close to me. I didn't let go of her for one second until we reached the floor we needed to get off on.

When we entered the office, Bella was greeted warmly by all of her co-workers. She received a round of hugs from everyone and they all told her they were proud of the way she had handled the situation. Word must have gotten out about her shooting Reynolds. As we made our way into Emmett's office he greeted Bella with a big hug as well.

"How are you doing?" he asked her.

"Ok. Still trying to process everything, but eager to move on and put it behind me."

"Don't blame ya one bit for that. Let me get Erikson on the phone and see if he wants to do this in here or in his office." Emmett then picked up the phone and dialed his boss's extension. At the same time Emmett did that, Bella used my cell phone to call Dr. Bartholomew.

As soon as they both arrived, Erikson asked Bella to begin. We sat down next to each other in the two chairs across from Emmett's desk. Emmett got Dr. Bartholomew and Erikson a chair from another office. He placed one on the other side of Bella for the doctor and the other on the side of Emmett's desk. Emmett sat in his chair behind his desk.

As Bella took a deep breath and began to speak, I put my left arm around her shoulder for support. She went through all the details, recounting them from the moment she came out of the bathroom stall and saw Jake there until the moment she shot Reynolds and it was all over. She filled us in on all the information she had obtained from them both. Why Jake had been driven to do what he had done, about his ex wife, his gambling debts and how he had pilfered away his father's bank account. Erikson informed us that Jake had been very cooperative and had told them much of the same and he would fill her in at a later date on all Jake had confessed. However once Bella talked about how she had been drugged and the things that Jake had said to her about how he wished he could have his way with her before he turned her over to Reynolds—I was absolutely livid. I was clutching the arm of the chair so hard I felt as if I could snap it.

Although I would soon learn that what Bella had already told us was not the worst of it. Her small frame shook from a shiver that ran through her when she told us that Reynolds had touched her hair and about the things he had said to her. She told us why he chose to send her the apples and how he wanted to break her and control her or she would become another one of his victims. It hurt so bad to hear her recall how she had told him to just go ahead and kill her because she would never give in to his demands. Bella should have never been put in a position to think that death was a better alternative than what she was facing and it pissed me off to think that maybe if she had been aware of her likeness to Reynolds' victims in the first place, this whole thing might have been avoided.

I struggled to summon every ounce of strength and patience I had to hold myself in that chair and not go on a destructive rampage. I thought I might literally explode with the desire to hurt someone for what she had been through; I wanted to break shit and hit shit to take to my anger out on it. All sorts of horrible images where flying through my head. Even though I knew that fucker was dead and Bella was here with me and safe, it did nothing to stop them from bombarding my mind. It was the worst possible form of hell.

Once Bella had told us everything, I gave my statement and explained what had taken place from the time Emmett and I had arrived at the house, until the moment Bella shot Reynolds. I told them how we had seen her climbing out the window and how once Emmett had taken off after Black, I came up with a plan to get myself into the house with Bella and Reynolds.

"You let him get you on purpose?" Bella asked. Her voice was laced with a hint of fear.

"Yes. I had seen the two of you through the window. After watching for a few minutes and not seeing anyone else, I knew it was just the two of you in the house. So I purposely made myself visible by the kitchen window. When I heard him coming around the side of the house, I acted as if he had snuck up on me and from there he held me at gunpoint and forced me into the house."

Bella had a stunned expression her face upon hearing what I had done. From that point on my story matched Bella's.

When Bella and I were both finished explaining everything, Dr. Bartholomew asked Emmett and Erikson if they would give her a few minutes alone with us. She not only confirmed with Bella that she felt it was best for Bella to continue seeing her for now, but she also suggested that I might find a few sessions helpful myself to deal with any guilt or anger I was feeling. Given the amount of anger I was feeling right now over the situation we had all just experienced, I agreed to do it. I had seen a few guys in the Army loose it when they held on to their anger over the things they had to endure during combat and how it tore them apart. That was not something I wanted for myself or for Bella. She would ultimately feel responsible and I would never want her to be saddled with that burden.

Dr. Bartholomew gave Bella and me each appointment cards with dates and times. She said that she had taken the liberty to check her schedule before she came up since having dealt with similar cases before she was pretty certain that we would want to see her. She also told us that we could consider some joint sessions if we wanted to and went on to give us some tips on relaxation techniques to help us in times of high stress. Once she made sure that we were both ok for now she left.

Emmett and Erikson came back in and Emmett told Bella that unless he told her otherwise, he didn't want to see her at work for the rest of the week. He then handed her, her gun and cell phone as he told her, "I think these belong to you."

"You don't need these as evidence?" Bella asked him.

"No." Emmett stated. "We have the camera footage from the restroom which shows him ordering you to leave them behind. That will be enough evidence when the case goes to trial."

Erikson reiterated what Emmett said, but he also told her due to the fact that she had been drugged he was going to have to order her to partake in a physical. He said that the bureau was already having to deal with enough given all the negative press over one of their own being involved in such a scandal and that they didn't need anything else to be messed up. He said he understood that she wasn't physically harmed and even though it was unlikely there would be any remnant traces of the drug Jake had used left in her system, they had to run the test anyway. If by chance there were traces of the drug left in her blood stream, it would be valuable evidence against Jake. Bella wasn't happy about it but she understood where Erikson was coming from so she didn't fight it. Erikson told her she needed to go right away and gave her the location of where to go.

Bella then thanked Emmett for her stuff and after giving him another hug, the two of us made our way down to her office so she could retrieve the things that had been left there before she was taken, like her purse and laptop

We then left her work and headed to Bella's physical appointment. Bella had turned white as a ghost when they drew her blood, but she had said that the rest of the exam was no problem and went fine.

After that we went to my office so I could take care of some work I needed to do. Bella passed the time that I had to be there by staying with me in my office and watching TV or reading magazines while I caught Jasper up on our business dealings that had taken place while he was gone. By the time we left my office it was getting late so we stopped to pick up some Chinese carry out on our way home. We ate our dinner while sitting on a couple of oversized pillows on the living room floor, using the coffee table to eat off of as we watched the end of the baseball game. Once we were finished we headed up to bed.

I had stripped down to my boxers and was now watching Bella as she undressed and was overcome with the need to make love to her. She had just taken her top and sweater off and was standing there in her pink lace bra and her skirt. I walked over to her and snaked my arms around her waist and ran my hands back and forth across her bare stomach as I planted open mouthed kisses along her shoulder. She leaned her head back on my chest and took one of my hands and slid it up to cup her breast. This was all the invitation I needed to continue.

We went on like that for a few more minutes before I reached down to undo her skirt and let it fall to the floor in a puddle around her feet. She turned to face me and placed several small kisses along my chest before looking up at me.

"I need you, Edward," she whispered.

"Mmm, I need you too, Sweetness. I want to make love to you so badly."

"Then what are you waiting for?" she purred.

I picked her up, causing her to wrap her legs around me, and carried her to the bed. Holding on to her with one arm, I pulled back the covers on the bed and then lowered us both onto it. I hovered over her as I pressed her into the mattress and formed a cage around her body with mine as we began to kiss. Her tongue dragged across my lips and I captured it and sucked it into my mouth. We continued kissing, attacking each other's lips as if we were starving for one another.

When Bella's legs wrapped even tighter around me and she began to rub against me, I felt something snap and a primal desire burning inside of me for her. I had a craving to reclaim her; to mark her as mine so no other man could ever touch her again. Nothing about the entire fucked-upped ordeal was Bella's fault. However, hearing her talk earlier today, recounting the things that James Reynolds had said to her and how she felt when he had touched her hair, unleashed some overwhelming need for me to prove to myself that she was still mine. I still, to a certain degree, felt responsible for those things happening because she was taken on my watch. Theoretically, I knew that nothing had changed between us; we had hardly left each other's sides. Crazy or not, I needed that physical proof. I needed to reconnect with her in every possible way, especially in the most intimate way. I had to know that we still had that same connection between us and no one or nothing could ever take that away.

I broke the heated kissed we were engaged in and rolled away from her, onto my back. I was getting inside my own head too much and I was becoming too aggressive with her.

Breathing heavily and hardly able to get the words out, she asked, "Edward, what's wrong?" She rolled from her back onto her side so she was facing me. Hitching her leg over mine, she ran her fingers through the smattering of hair on my chest, making small circles back and forth, grazing my nipples in the process.

Her touch was like hot coals on my skin. Burning and surging through me, shooting straight to my already raging arousal and doing nothing to help me control the powerful urges I was feeling. Her touch had branded me and marked me hers a long time ago. She was it for me. No other woman had ever come close to making me feel the way she did and I was certain no one else ever could. Nor would I ever want them to.

"I thought you wanted to make love to me, Edward."

How did I explain to her what I was feeling? And do it in such a way as to not frighten her and leave her thinking I was a monster.

"No…I… what—" I cut myself off unable to form the right words. I took a deep breath to calm myself a bit, hoping to try and say the right thing, but when Bella pulled away and rolled on to her back I knew I had caused her to misunderstand what it was I was trying to say. Now I'd hurt her because I was sure she thought I was refusing her. _Fuck_, I screamed in my head.

"It's ok if you don't want to, I just—" she whispered, her voice full of confusion and hurt.

Knowing I had to stop this now and somehow tell her, I quickly rolled over to her and placed my fingers over her soft lips to hush her.

"I'm sorry, that's the last thing I wanted you to think. Jesus, Bella, I want you so fucking much. It's just…"

"Just what, Edward?" she asked softly while sliding her hand up my arm and resting it on my shoulder.

"It's hard to explain."

"Try. Please," she pleaded in a soft voice as she raised herself up and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

I did my best to tell Bella how I felt some caveman-like desire to claim her, to show her she was mine. I explained to her how hearing that bastard had touched her made me feel, how it brought out a possessive side in me I never knew existed.

"Oh, Edward," she said. "We're quite a pair."

"What are you talking about?"

"Even though I was sure of your love for me, it didn't stop me from having those same sort of thoughts when I had to watch you walk down the aisle with Chelsea during Alice's wedding. And it was only magnified when you had to dance with her as part of the wedding party. All I could think about was how that undeserving selfish bitch's hands were on you and I hated it."

"You did huh?" I asked, pulling her closer to me and nuzzling my face in her hair. It still amazed me how something as simple as her smell could help ground me and calm me down.

"I did. I want to be the only woman in your arms and the only woman who gets to feel these magnificent hands of yours roam all over her body. I know hearing what you did today couldn't have been easy for you. I felt the tension you were feeling as the muscles of your arm twitched while it was around me and I saw your death grip on the chair. I think you wanting to reassure yourself that it's all over and I'm still here with you are pretty normal reactions for you to have. It's a bit hard for me to grasp as well. I also need to have those same things confirmed for me too. There were a few times when I got worried and I got scared, wondering why it was taking so long for you guys to find me. But thinking of you, our love and being in your arms, making love to you is part of what helped get me through the whole thing. I knew you wouldn't ever give up, so neither could I."

"I guess I just didn't realize that you would be feeling the same way."

"I do," Bella said softly as she reached up and tangled her fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck and used it as leverage to pull me down to her. She softly brushed her lips against mine a few times before gently slipping her tongue into my mouth to deepen the kiss.

When we broke apart for air there was something else I needed to know. "You said that thinking about me and us was part of what helped you. Well what else was it? What was the other part?"

Placing soft kisses along my jaw, she answered, "The thought of never being with you again or seeing my family again was just unacceptable to me. Plus, I was hell bent and determined to not let those two evil men get away with what they were doing. I would have died trying to get back to you and my family."

"I would have done the same to get you back, Bella."

"I know you would have. But you have to promise me something. And you can't deny it because I have it from a very reliable source that you had been doing this."

"Anything, Sweetness. You just tell me what it is and I promise." I didn't even have to ask what it was to know I would do anything she asked me. I trusted her completely and I knew she would never ask anything of me that she wasn't willing to do herself.

"The one reaction, one feeling I don't want to see you go through is blaming yourself for anything that happened. I know you have because I know how you think and how protective you are of me. I've had a lot of time to think about this. There are so many 'could have done this' or 'should have done that' that we could spend the rest of our lives fretting over them. I'm pretty positive that you were no doubt beating yourself up over the fact you didn't come down to walk me up after my appointment. I did the same thing to myself over not waiting for you. But in the end, I _am_ ok. I am _here_ with _you_ and I'm not going anywhere ever, unless you tell me you don't want me anymore. I can't regret what happened because if it hadn't, neither of those men would have gotten what they deserved."

This woman was the most amazing creature alive. Just when I thought she couldn't know me any better, be more perfect for me or that I couldn't possibly love her any more, she proves me wrong.

"You amaze me more and more all the time. And just so you know, I'll never stop wanting you. You're it for me, Bella," I told her, brushing her hair back from her face and kissing her forehead.

"I am?" she asked, but I could see the wide smile spreading across her face as she absorbed what I had said.

"Yes. You are. You're an amazing woman, Isabella Swan, and I am looking forward to spending the rest of my life showing you just special you are and how much I love you."

"Well, you're not so bad yourself, Edward Cullen, and I love you too. I know we may still have some stuff to work through so we can completely move past all that has happened, but we _will_ get there.

"We will and we will do it together," I confirmed for her.

"Yes, together. Now show me, Edward. Make love to me. Make me yours again."

I crashed my lips to hers and slid my hand up her leg, bringing it up over my hip while grinding into her and letting her feel just how badly I wanted her. She let out a soft moan which only encouraged me to continue. My hand wandered up the smooth skin of her back until it was cupping the back of her neck and tangled in her silky hair.

"You want me to show you?" I murmured, breaking the kiss. I lowered my mouth so I could drag my lips across her collar bone. Nipping at her sweet skin all along her neck, I then teased her earlobe with my tongue.

"Yes."

"Mmm, Sweetness, you have no idea what you have asked."

I quickly stripped her of her bra and panties and removed my boxers. Her breaths increased to a raspy pants as I lowered my mouth and captured her taut nipple between my lips and raked my tongue across it. I went on licking and sucking, going back and forth between her nipples as my hands massaged the one that wasn't in my mouth.

I could feel her body trembling with anticipation of what was to come as my hand slid down the smooth flat surface of her stomach, past her navel to the soft wet folds between her legs. I grabbed a hold of her leg, hitched it up higher over my hip and returned my hand to her wet center, inserting two fingers in her and causing Bella to moan my name.

When she reached down and grasped my throbbing hard-on and began to stroke it, I moaned loudly. "God, Bella, that feels so fucking good. I want to be inside you. I don't think I can wait much longer."

"Then don't. I'm yours, Edward."

"Just as I am yours, Sweetness."

As soon as those words were spoken I wrapped my arms around her and rolled her flat onto her back. She wrapped her legs around my hips as I sheathed myself inside her with one smooth thrust. She felt better than anything I had ever felt in my entire life. We continued to move in sync once we found our rhythm. I could feel the connection of our love flowing between us, binding us together as one. Increasing my tempo and adjusting the angle of her hips, I found that sacred spot deep within her. I could feel her begin to writhe beneath me, letting me know she was quickly coming undone.

"Oh, Edward," she cried out. "I'm so close."

I placed my arms on both sides of her head as I lowered my upper body onto my forearms. Her arms slid around my neck and her grip tightened on me as I felt her ankles lock behind my back. Making love to her was indescribable. We fit together perfectly. Like two ships passing in the night until at long last they found each other. As the tension within my own body increased I could feel her walls begin to tighten around me. Knowing it wasn't going to be much longer for me, I reached between our bodies and stroked my fingers back and forth over her swollen bundle of nerves. It only took a few more thrusts before we both cried out and rode the waves of our euphoria together.

We laid there together twisted around each other, our bodies still tingling from the pleasure we'd just experienced for what seemed like hours. Kissing slowly and softly, we poured all our love into each and every movement of our lips and every caress. As our kisses eventually slowed and we both became overcome by our fatigue, I pulled the covers over us and held her to me, knowing that whatever we had to endure to put these past few days behind us, we'd do it together and that was all that mattered.

**Loved it, hated it? Let me know. The teaser for chapter 26 will post on Monday. Don't for get to check out my Valentine's day one shot and to go vote for TLA.**

**Thanks for reading,  
**

**EA**


	26. Run To You

**Hello everyone, sorry this chapter is a little late. Real life has a way of rearing its ugly head when you least expect it. Anywho, my eternal thanks to My-Bella and Hope4more, you guys are the best. Thanks to all of you, my fantastic readers, for voting in the Indie Fic Pimp's readalong contest for the month of February. Truths, Lies and Alibis won and it will take place this Saturday the 26****th**** at 8pmCST/9pmEST. I'll be there and you can chat with others who have read TLA and can ask me anything you want. If it doesn't give anything away about future chapters, I promise to answer. The readalong takes place on Twitter and my ID is edward620. **

**For more info on how it works, go to Indie Fic Pimp's blog ****http:/indieficpimp(.)blogspot(.)?zx=315df6ffbb79f6a3**** . Just remember to remove the () from the dots. Thanks again, see ya at the bottom. **

_This world keeps spinning faster  
Into a new disaster so I run to you, I run to you baby  
When it all starts coming undone  
Baby, you're the only one I run to, I run to you_

_We run on fumes, your life and mine  
Like the sands of time slippin' right on through  
And our love's the only truth  
That's why I run to you  
__**Run To You by Lady Antebellum**__  
_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**August 4, 2010**_

Having tossed and turned, rolled from my side to his several times and after I'd completely destroyed the bed, I drug myself out of its warm confines after realizing that I was not going to be able to go back to sleep. I felt excruciatingly alone in Edward's huge king size bed. The fact that his scent and his things were surrounding me did nothing to alleviate the fact that he wasn't here right now. The bed was too empty and Edward's presence was painfully missed. It had been weeks since I had slept alone and I wondered if I would ever be able to do so again. For that matter, did I ever want to again?

Edward had been home with me all day yesterday but had returned to work today. His absence had never been more pronounced, not even when we had just returned to Seattle and I spent those first few nights home alone. He had actually gone to work yesterday morning only to return about an hour later explaining to me that Jasper had more or less demanded he should be home with me. Jasper had told him if he was going to insist on working that he should do it from home. Edward had said Jasper felt we needed some time to recoup from all we had been through in such a short time—the notes, the break-in at my house, and Jacob kidnapping me. I couldn't deny being grateful and torn at the same time. I was happy Edward was home with me, but sad that I was once again affecting Edward's life and normal routine. I wanted things to return to normal, but figuring out what was normal anymore and how I was supposed to get back to it was not an easy task. Because so much had changed, at this point in time I didn't have a clue how to get there. The normal my life was before this mess with Reynolds and Black no longer existed. At that time I hadn't met Edward, hadn't been put under his constant watch, hadn't become accustomed to living with him, and hadn't been forced to live in his home because mine had been invaded. The only thing that had remained somewhat normal had been my job and for the next few days I didn't even have that.

A chill ran through my body as I thought about it all. I wanted so badly to be able to just forget about what had happened and move past it, but it wasn't that simple. I would be having my first appointment with Dr. Bartholomew since the kidnapping today and I hoped she had some ideas for me. I also wondered what kinds of things she would say to Edward when he had his first appointment with her on Friday. He seemed like he was handling things pretty well to me so maybe it would be about ways to help me deal with what had happened. I also had an idea that maybe she was going to talk to him about not beating himself up over my being kidnapped. Edward had felt guilty and responsible when I had been hurt during our investigation into the anonymous tip we had received on that old house. So if he were feeling guilty over that, I could only imagine how he might be beating himself up over this. Maybe I would ask Dr. Bartholomew about helping him cope as well. We could lean on each other to get us both through this.

Edward hadn't been gone long, but that didn't stop me from missing him and wishing he could be here. However he had a business to run and under normal circumstances I would be at work myself instead of here alone. _Surely I could entertain myself for a couple of days. How hard could it really be? _

I found myself sitting on the couch fidgeting and trying to figure out what to do. I flipped through the channels on the TV trying to find something to watch, but the only thing remotely entertaining was the movie _Men in Black_. It didn't hold my attention for long, but I did laugh a little at myself for thinking I could sure use Agent K and his mind erasing device right about now. _Get a grip, Bella,_ I thought to myself. _No Agent K and no giant people-eating cockroaches from another galaxy. _

However there were real monsters in this world. They were real living and breathing humans who were warped and demented enough to think they could do what they wanted and get away with it. _Or well he used to be living and breathing. I put an end to that. _And even dead he was still affecting my life. I was sitting here in the state I was in because of him. I knew on some level he probably would always have an effect on me given the fact I had taken his life. Not because I was sorry I did it, because if you ask me he still got off too easy. But Edward and I had met because of the turmoil James Reynolds had brought into my life and that was something we would never be able to forget.

If I had been honest with myself and Edward I would have agreed to him working from home again today instead of insisting that he go to his office. He had offered and told me it wasn't a big deal, that he had brought home everything he needed for a couple of days yesterday. But as much as I wanted him here with me I felt like now that I was no longer in danger, his life shouldn't be interrupted by having to be here with me. He was going to leave work early as it was to take me to my appointment and I just didn't want all the other areas of his life to suffer because I was feeling a little insecure. I knew he wouldn't see it that way, but it was how I felt and compared to the decisions we still had to make, it was not a big deal and I would just have to deal with it. After all I was twenty five, not twelve. Edward and I had yet to discuss what we were going to do as far as our living arrangements or about possibly picking up my car and bringing it over here now that I could drive myself again. We had settled into a comfortable routine and I wasn't quite sure how Edward or I felt about changing it. All of the changes that had taken place before were done out of need and now that we could make changes because we wanted to it was a little overwhelming.

Not wanting to think about the decisions we would have to soon make, I got up and walked around the loft and tried to find something to occupy my time. Nothing seemed to catch my interest and that left me feeling a bit lost. The loft felt entirely too empty and too quiet and I really needed something to occupy my mind so it didn't drift back to what we had just been through. When it did, all the images would come crashing back to me and I really didn't want to be subjected to them again. It was all still too fresh, too scary, and too painful to think about. Even if I was here and neither one of those men were a threat to me anymore , the image of Edward with a gun to his head or the sensation of my skin crawling when Reynolds had touched my hair, was more than I wanted to deal with right now. At least not while I was here alone.

I went upstairs to graze through the books Edward had in his spare bedroom. One whole wall of the room had a built in book case that spanned the entire length and width of it. It was probably ten feet tall and more than that wide, with every shelf filled to the brim with books.

I picked a random spot, starting right in the middle and began to scan over the various titles. He had several classics…_Moby Dick_, _Huckleberry Fin, Ulysses, Catcher in the Rye_ as well as some Shakespeare, Dickens, and a few of Bronte's books. Edward even had a copy of Mary Shelly's_ Frankenstein_ and Bram Stoker's_ Dracula. _There were several more recent series, like _The Lord of the Rings_, several books of poetry and even a complete set of the _Harry Potter_ books. I smiled as I ran my hand over the spine of the Potter books. I had my own set at home and knew that the love of the series wasn't cornered by young readers. People from every age group loved them.

Finally choosing one of the Bronte's, I pulled it from the shelf and walked across the room to the French doors leading to the small balcony off the room. Opening the door, I sat down in one of the chairs next to the small bistro table. As I looked more closely at the book, I noticed how worn it was, as if it had been read several times. I would have to remember to ask Edward what he was doing with an obviously well-used copy of _Jane Eyre_. It wasn't something a man would usually read. He had said I was the only woman to have ever been here in the loft other than his mother and sister so it didn't seem likely it had been left behind by some other girlfriend of his.

Propping my feet up on the other chair, I dug into the book.

I had been reading peacefully and enjoying the warm morning sun until I was startled by the loud popping sound of a car backfiring on the street below. "Shit," I gasped as I sat there clutching the book to my chest while I tried to catch my breath. The sound had been eerily similar to a gunshot and my heart had nearly jumped out of my chest at the noise.

After that, no matter how hard I tried, I was unable to relax and concentrate on the book. I found myself constantly looking up from the page and checking my surroundings every few minutes to make sure no one was there with me and that I was still safe in Edward's loft. As a result I had read the same paragraph in the book four or five times. It felt pointless to continue trying. Frustrated, I gave up and I went back inside. After making sure the balcony door was locked, I set the book back in its place on the shelf and headed towards Edward's bedroom.

I had just finished tackling the tangled mess I had made of the sheets and comforter when I noticed the laundry hamper was full. Thinking maybe some house work would keep me busy I dug my cellphone out of my jeans pocket and pressed the contact key that would automatically dial Edward's number.

"Hello, Sweetness. Everything okay?" came Edward's velvety voice through the phone.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said trying to sound convincing and not let him know that I was having a hard time being here by myself. If he did he would be on his way home immediately.

"Bella, what's wrong?" he asked. I must not have sounded as convincing as I thought.

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you where your washer and dryer were. Oh and I read one of your books."

"Sweetness, I know you haven't been there alone much, not at all really. But what did I tell you this morning?"

"Before or after you kissed me senseless?" I asked with a smile spreading across my face as memories of this morning's kiss popped back into my head. The kiss had been toe curling and had left me breathless and wanting more.

"Before," he said with a combination of a snort and laugh coming out as he did.

"Um… I forget."

"That kiss must have really boggled your mind," he teased.

"Your kisses always boggle my mind."

"Hmm, that powerful huh?"

"Yes they are that good."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing yours have the same effect on me."

"They do?" I asked. I was kind of shocked that I had such an effect on him. I had never affected any of the other men I had dated before so much. Of course none of them were Edward and none of them had loved me the way he did either. So the knowledge that I had as much of a hold on him as he did on me made me extremely happy and brought a huge smile to my face.

"Everything about you affects me that way, Bella. Sometimes I think I could get lost in my mind just watching you."

He was so sweet and always knew just what to say to make me melt. "I feel the same way. I love you."

"I love you too. Now are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes."

"Good, and about the books…Sweetness, read any or all of them. I told you this morning, you can do anything you want. Help yourself to anything there."

"Ok, but where are your washer and dryer?"

"In the closet with the folding doors at the end of the second floor hall. I thought I had showed you that and I hope you know you don't have to do my laundry, Bella."

"I know I don't have to but I'm bored and I need something to do." _I miss you and I miss the warmth and security of your arms around me, _was the other thing I wanted to say, but I knew he'd be in his car and here before I could even get the first load of wash started.

"Ok. As much as I hate to, I have to go. Jasper and I have a conference call in about fifteen minutes. I'll see you in a little while to take you to your appointment."

"It's ok, I understand. I know you have work to do. See you soon."

We said our goodbyes and then I set about doing the laundry. About an hour and a half later when he called to check on me after his conference call, and for the rest of the morning I found myself calling Edward constantly, asking questions about his laundry. What do you want for dinner? Where do you want me to put your mail? Where's this, where's that and by the time late morning rolled around I was worried he was getting frustrated. I hated that I was aggravating him and interrupting his work, but for whatever reason I couldn't stop. I was just feeling so weird and out of sorts. I didn't quite know how to explain it. I just knew I felt off and out of place and Edward seemed to soothe that feeling somewhat.

So before I even realized what I was doing I had my phone in my hand and was pushing that magic button that would let me hear his voice again and as quickly as he said "Hello again, Sweetness" it dawned on me that I didn't know why I had called him this time.

"Um, I just wanted to make sure chicken fettuccini is what you wanted for dinner," I said softly, realizing how pathetic I must sound.

"Bella," he sighed into the phone. "Why would I choose something for dinner if it wasn't what I really wanted?"

"I don't know now that you mention it. Maybe because it's easy?"

"No. While that might be the case, I chose it because I like it. It sounded good. Do you not want chicken fettuccini? Is that why you are asking?"

"No, I just wanted to make sure it was what you wanted. I'm sorry, I know you are trying to work and I keep bothering you. I just…" My words trailed off. I was about to say I just couldn't help myself, but again I knew if I did he would leave work and I had to figure out a way to get through this. I couldn't keep disrupting his life.

"Sweetness," he sighed again and I just knew his hand was in his hair. I could hear it in the tone of his voice; I was frustrating him. "You're not bothering me. And what were you about to say? You just what?"

I was about to answer him when the buzzer telling me someone was downstairs and wanted to be let in echoed through the loft.

"Bella, is that the door buzzer?" Edward asked and I thought I had heard a sense of relief in his voice.

"Yes."

"Ask who it is first, but it should be Alice."

"Alice? What is Alice doing here? I mean, not that I mind, your sister is great. I just wasn't—"

"Sweetness, listen to me. You are obviously so bored you need something or someone to help you occupy your time so I called Alice. I thought the two of you could go out to lunch or something and then she'll drop you off here in time for me to take you to your appointment this afternoon. Is that ok?"

"Yeah," I said softly into the phone. "I'm sorry."

"Bella, there is nothing to be sorry for. You have more free time on your hands than you have had in a very long time. And you are not at your own house where you are used to being able to do your own thing. Jasper mentioned Alice wasn't doing anything today, so I called her."

"Great. Now they know that I can't entertain myself for a few hours. I feel like such a big baby," I huffed.

"That's not true. Besides, Alice is dying to spend some more time with you. So go out to lunch and have some fun. After all, that ball and chain of a security guard you had isn't permanently attached to you any longer."

"But I love my ball and chain of a security guard."

"He loves you too, Sweetness. No go get the buzzer before Ali breaks it," Edward said as he laughed lightly, no doubt hearing the buzzer ringing again. Alice definitely gave the impression she could be really impatient if she wanted to.

Alice entered the loft with the energy of a mini tornado. She was practically bouncing in place.

"Hurry, go get changed. Mom is going to join us for lunch and then we are going to head to the mall."

I looked down at what I was wearing and realized I still had on the t-shirt of Edward's I had slept in last night. I had knotted the end of it so it didn't hang so long when I put my jeans on this morning. Alice was of course dressed fashionably. She had on a sleeveless flower print dress and natural colored wedge heels that tied around her ankles. It was simple, cute and looked great on her. Then again, Alice was one of those women who could wear anything. She could make a potato sack look good.

I hurried upstairs and grabbed the first thing I came across in the closet. It was a thin strapped green tank that had tiered ruffles and pulled my denim jacket on over the top. Once I had that on I slipped my feet into a pair of black wedge heels. After quickly running a comb through my hair and applying some clear lip gloss, I made my way back downstairs.

"Ok, I'm ready," I called to Alice as I reached the bottom step.

"Don't you look cute," she replied when noticing the change in my appearance. "Let's go."

I grabbed my purse off the counter and followed Alice down to her car. I shook my head slightly to myself when I saw that she drove a Porsche. _A love of fast cars must run in their family_, I thought as I climbed into the bright yellow sports car.

We met Esme at the same restaurant in the mall where Edward and I had met up with Emmett, Rose, Alice and Jasper a few weeks ago. Alice had called her mother from the car and had suggested it since it was convenient and Alice wanted to shop.

The three of us chatted while eating our lunch. They both asked me how I was doing. I had told them that I was good, and everything was a bit weird but I was trying to adjust. Esme assured me that she felt in time everything would work itself out, to just remain patient and take things one day at a time. She also told me she was there for me with anything I might need, that all I had to do was call. The love I felt radiating from her was nearly overwhelming. I was surprised, but truly touched and grateful for how Edward's parents had come to care for me in the short time they had known me. The way they had opened up their house to my family this past weekend was more than I could have ever asked for. It was something I would never forget.

Alice told us some more about her honeymoon and Esme talked about the latest remodeling project she was working on. The turn of the century home she was restoring sounded amazing. I could see by the expression on her face, as well as hear in her voice, how much she loved her work.

I was surprised and nearly choked on a bite of my lunch when Alice changed the subject by asking her mother, "So, Mom, what did Caroline say when you told her you wouldn't be going to Chicago to redecorate Chelsea's house?"She popped a green olive from her salad into her mouth and went on like she had just asked her mom about the weather. However Alice being totally unaware of my gift, didn't realize that I could sense what she was doing. I got the feeling that Alice had a reason for bringing it up and it wasn't merely because she wanted to know. For some reason she wanted me to know. So I listened to see why.

Esme smiled as she looked first at Alice and then to me. Noticing the slightly confused expression on my face, Esme clued me in as to who Caroline was. "Caroline is Chelsea's mother." Esme then continued on to tell us that Chelsea's mother had been disappointed when she declined the job of redoing her daughter's home.

"She isn't mad at you?" I asked wondering how Esme's longtime friend felt about her refusal. And even though I didn't want Esme to have any hard feelings between herself and her friend, I was doing cartwheels inside knowing that Chelsea and her smug little self wasn't getting her way. She had been so sure and so confident that Esme would jump to her demands and I was thrilled that it hadn't worked out that way.

"No she wasn't mad. Disappointed yes, but not mad." Esme sighed, setting her fork down and then taking a long drink of her iced tea. She then said, "You see, as much as I didn't want to hurt Caroline's feelings I had never had any intention of going. Chelsea might be one of Alice's closest friends, and I would never dictate to my children who they should or shouldn't associate themselves with, but I'm simply not as fond of the girl as I used to be."

"She has changed a lot," Alice added. "I'm not so sure I know her as well as I thought I did anymore. I've even had the thought that our friendship might only be salvaged by the fact that she is now living in Chicago and we will see far less of one another."

Hearing and feeling the sadness Alice was experiencing over how her supposed best friend had changed and treated her only caused me to feel more disdain towards the bitchy redhead. Chelsea's apparent disregard for the feelings of her friends and others around her was affecting two women who I was quickly coming to care a great deal for and I didn't like those effects at all. It made me very glad she had moved half way across the country and there was very little chance of me ever bumping into her again, because if I did, I didn't think I could hold back from slapping her as I had last time.

I was pulled from my own thoughts on the subject when Esme began talking again. "In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have been able to go. With the house I am currently working on, Chelsea would have had to wait until I was finished with it and lord knows that girl has not been known to be a patient person. I'm sure she would have thrown a fit that would have rivaled that of a three year olds. She used to be a sweet caring girl and now she is nothing more than a manipulative materialistic bi—"

Esme stopped herself just short of calling Chelsea a bitch. As she did, Alice and I both erupted in a fit a giggles from seeing Esme clamp her hand over her mouth in an effort to keep the word from coming out. Once Alice and I had gotten a hold on ourselves, I realized that despite the smile on Esme's face, I felt the wave of resentment coming from her. I had to wonder if her refusal to redecorate Chelsea's house was more because of the way Chelsea had ended her relationship with Edward and was less about the changes in her personality. I might never know if that were the case, but one thing I did know was that she would never have to worry about me hurting her son like that. I loved Edward with my whole heart and hurting him was the last thing I would ever want to do.

Once we finished eating and paying for our food, we were off to shop. The three of us made our way through the mall, going in and out of several stores. I had never seen someone spend so much time in a Victoria's Secret store in all my life. Sure I liked pretty underwear like any other woman, but Alice seemed to be buying a whole new lingerie wardrobe.

I was perusing through a rack of their sleepwear, looking to find something I thought Edward might like on me, something red to be specific, when I felt as though I was being watched. It was quite strange; when I glanced in the direction of the door to the store I caught a movement and could have sworn I'd seen someone darting past it just as I had looked up.

My heart began to race as I darted over to the door and stepped out of the store. However I didn't see anyone that resembled the person I thought I had seen. No matter how loud the rational side of my brain was screaming at me that it was impossible, the less rational side was panicking and thinking that I had just seen Jacob Black. It left me standing there unable to move as my eyes kept scanning my surroundings looking for him.

I felt a huge surge of nervousness and apprehension coming towards me and turned my gaze briefly to see one of the store clerks approaching me. Although it wasn't until she tapped me on the arm and pointed at my hand, asking me if I wanted to purchase the item I was holding, that I realized what I was doing and that I still had the garment in my hand. I was horrified to think the clerk thought I was attempting to steal the nightgown.

Of course it was that same moment when Alice noticed the clerk speaking to me and came over to us. With the amount of confusion rolling off of Alice on top of the clerk's emotions, and my own embarrassment over the fact it appeared that I was trying to leave the store without paying for what I had, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed.

"Hey, Bella, what's going on?" Alice asked.

"Oh I um…I thought I saw someone I knew. That's all," I replied, trying to hide the uneasy feeling and embarrassment that had come over me.

Noticing the sales clerk still standing there beginning to get agitated and poised like she was ready to pounce on me, I made my way with the nightgown that was still in my hand over to the register and paid for it. Alice paid for her items next and we were off to another store.

A little while later, after we had been in and out of a few more stores and had stopped to peek in the windows of several more, it was time to go. On the way back to the car Alice stopped to use the restroom. While Esme and I waited for her, I was surprised when Esme asked, "Are you ok, Sweetheart?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Oh, Sweetheart, you must not even realize you are doing it."

"Doing what?" I asked confused by her statement.

Reaching up and placing her hand on my arm in a caring gesture, she then said, "Sweetie, you keep looking over your shoulder and at times glancing all around you like…I don't know, maybe like you're on some sort of a stake-out or you're searching for someone. There have even been a couple of times when you have nearly spun around as if you thought someone were behind you. And when someone was behind you, you flinched at times or actually jumped like it frightened you."

"I did?"

"Yes, Sweetie, you did."

"Oh," was the only reply I could think of to give her. I hadn't even realized I was doing the things she pointed out and I didn't really know what to say to her. Not only was I lost on how to respond to what she had said, but I was worried that I had been next to her for the last couple of hours and I hadn't picked up on her worry. I knew it wasn't because she was like Edward and unable for me to read because I had done so in the past. But was I really that lost in my own head that I was missing out on things that I would normally pick up on almost instantly? The thought of that happening worried me. Actually it scared me. It had me afraid that in certain circumstances I might not be able to perform my job. And then what would I do?

"Bella, Sweetheart, it's ok. You have been through so much," she cooed as she pulled me into a light embrace. "I'm certainly not a psychiatrist, but I am sure it is going to take you some time to fully get over what has happened. Just remember to talk to your doctor and remember that we are all here for you if there is anything you need. Especially Edward, he loves you so much. Let him help you through this. Let him be there for you."

"I will. And Esme…thank you." She was truly a remarkable woman and I could see so much of her son in her and vice versa. They both had that natural nurturing quality about them and I considered myself very lucky to have both of them in my life.

"Just make sure you tell him. Ok?" she requested.

"Ok."

A minute later Alice returned from her trip in the restroom and we left the mall; Esme heading home and Alice and I heading to Edward and Jasper's work.

Once we were inside the building, I thanked Alice for a great afternoon and we said our goodbyes. Climbing up the stairs to the area where both men's offices were, I stood in the doorway and waited when noticing Edward was on the phone. He was deep in conversation with a client. Just seeing him was enough to begin to ease the tension I was feeling. I watched as he thumbed through several papers he had scattered across his desk while he spoke to the person on the other end of the line.

He was totally in the zone as he went about taking care of business. Completely relaxed and comfortable in his element and even a little sexy too. There was just something about him sitting at his desk completely engrossed in what he was doing that held some sort of allure to me.

When Edward leaned back in his seat and looked up, he finally noticed me standing there ogling him. A huge smile flashed across his face as he raised his hand and motioned for me to go over by him. As I reached his desk I started to sit down in the chair in front of it, but he shook his head no while scooting out from his desk and patting his leg, indicating he wanted me to sit there. I had no sooner sat down when he ended the call, telling whoever it was that he'd take the additional details into account and get back to him in the next day or two.

Immediately sliding his hand up to gently grasp the back of my neck, he pulled me down to him for a kiss. His lips were soft and eager at the same time as he slipped his tongue between my lips to deepen the kiss.

"Mmm, I missed you today, Sweetness," he murmured as he pulled away and placed a kiss on my forehead.

The moment I had made contact with him, I felt so much more at ease and relaxed. Safe. It was as if he grounded me and cleared the fog in my head.

"I missed you too," I said leaning in for another kiss.

This time when we broke apart he said to me, "Just let me put these papers away and I'll be ready to go."

I nodded and stood to get up. Edward gave me a playful smack on my rear as I did.

"Hey, what was that for?" I whined, and rubbed the spot even though it didn't really hurt.

However I was unable to fight off the smile that was forming on my face and Edward's only answer came in the form of his sexy smirk that caused my heart to beat faster every time I saw it. I knew I had been busted in my poor attempt to act as if his playful smack had actually hurt. Truth was I loved it when he was all flirty and playful.

I looked out the large window of his office while he finished up what he needed to do. I must have zoned out a bit while gazing at the downtown skyline because next thing I knew Edward was behind me asking me if I was ok.

"Yeah, of course I am. Why?" It felt like I had already answered that same question several times today_. Maybe because I had._

He turned me around and cradled my face in his hands. After brushing a light kiss on my lips he said, "That's the second or third time you've jumped when I've come up behind you. You never used to do that. In fact you always used to know I was there as if you could feel my presence. What's going on, Bella?"

My head fell forward, resting on his chest as I mumbled, "I'm not sure."

"Sweetness," he said softly as he lifted my chin, forcing me to look at him. "Don't hide from me."

"I'm not hiding, I'm just frustrated," I told him and it honestly was the truth.

"What has you so frustrated?"

I went through what had happened in the store; how I had thought I had seen Jacob Black. Then I told him about my conversation with his mother. I told him how much it bothered me that I wasn't even aware that I was doing the things she said I was. He understood and said he could see how it would be frustrating.

"You are going to talk to Dr. Bartholomew about it right?" he asked. His voice was filled with concern.

"Yes. Although I already have an idea of what she is going to tell me."

"What's that?"

"My guess is that I'm experiencing a mild to moderate case of Post Traumatic Stress syndrome."

"That's kind of what I was thinking too. It's common in the Army with some of the missions we go on and the things we see. They give us a little bit of training in the Special Forces, usually just enough so that we can recognize the signs and symptoms in our fellow soldiers. I'm sure you would be more aware of it too, if you weren't the one experiencing the symptoms."

"You're probably right."

"Just remember that I'm here for you. You can tell me anything, Sweetness. I want you to tell me if something is wrong. I'm not going to think any less of you or judge you at all. I want to do whatever I can to help you get past this."

"Thank you. It means a lot to me to have you helping me through this. I honestly don't know if I could get through it without you. I need you with me."

And I really did. I was probably being a bit overdramatic in saying that I couldn't do it without him. I had gotten through the mess with Garrett on my own. But knowing Edward would be there with me certainly made it a little easier to bear. He had become my rock, my source of emotional support. I had never had that before in my life. Sure I had my family, but it wasn't the same. I didn't know quite how to explain it. Maybe it was because with my family I could always feel their emotions too. But Edward was my solace. With him I didn't have to worry about feeling guilty when the pain of what I was going through was reflected back to me in his own emotions like it was with everyone else. Not that I wanted to cause him any emotional distress, but not being able to read him allowed me to only feel the love and support that he was giving me.

"Sweetness, I need for you to know that even though I am no longer working for Emmett and the FBI, my dedication to you hasn't changed. Keeping you safe was never about doing a job or out of any sort of obligation I needed to uphold. It was always about you and my love for you. Keeping you safe is just as much for me as it is for you. If that makes me selfish then so be it. I love you, Bella, and the thought of you hurting emotionally is just as painful as the thought of you hurting physically. "

"I just don't want this to weigh you down. I don't want you worrying about me all the time and I don't want to feel weak. I…I feel like I've interrupted your life enough and you should be able to get back to it now. I love that you are here for me and I need your love and support to get through this, but I hate to see it causing you pain. I don't want to be a burden on you."

I could see a mix of emotions on his face. Frustration, concern, determination; they were all there, but the one I saw more than any of the rest was love. It was so hard for me now to think that I had at one time doubted his love for me. There was no way I could do that now. Nor would I want to. I had finally found someone who loved me wholly and completely for who I was and never once asked me to change and it made me love him even more for it.

"Damn it, Bella," he sighed in annoyance while tugging on his hair. "I want you to listen and listen good."

I slowly nodded letting him know that I was.

"First you need to know I am not upset with you. Second, you need to know that my life has been forever changed because you are in it and I wouldn't have it any other way. I love you so much and I would do anything for you and no matter what it might be that I do, I do it because I _want_ to. I could have chosen to walk away at any time. But I didn't then and I won't now. You could never be a burden to me. As far as I am concerned you are perfect to me and for me. Tell me something and you have to be completely honest with me. Will you do that?"

"Yes," I answered softly. I could see a fire and determination burning in his eyes.

"If our situations were reversed, if I was the one who was in your shoes, would you let me go through it alone? Would you insist on being there for me no matter what? Would you demand to be there and love me no matter how hard it might be or how long it might take? Would you, Bella? Think about it for a minute, think about what you would be willing to do for me. Because once you have, I think you will see where I am coming from and you will see that you love me just as fiercely as I do you and would be willing to go to the gates of hell and back for me just as I am for you."

When he put it to me like that, it was like some switch inside me was suddenly flipped and I understood what he was saying, how he felt. He was one hundred percent right. There was no way I would let him go through something like this alone. Never. And for the first time in my life I realized what it was like to be really truly loved by someone. I knew Edward loved me, but I guess I had never completely comprehended just how much and how deeply. We were a team, a couple, two halves of a whole that supported each other through everything, the good times and the bad.

"You understand now don't you? I can see it on your face. I saw it the moment it hit you, Sweetness," Edward said as he wrapped me in his arms and kissed the top of my head.

Looking up at him, seeing all the emotion swimming in his emerald eyes I told him, "I do. I really do and I am so thankful that I have you here with me to help me through this. It means so much to me, Edward."

"Where else would I go, Sweetness? You will never have to be alone. With you is the only place I want to be," he whispered just before his lips covered mine and he backed his words with his kiss, pouring all the love he felt for me into it.

"Now let's get you to your appointment," he said a few minutes later as he broke the kiss to breathe.

I nodded as he released me from his arms and turned to walk back over to his desk. But then knew I had to come clean about what had happened this morning.

I reached out and grabbed his hand. He stopped and turned back to me.

"There's one more thing that happened today that I need to tell you about," I said to him as his right eyebrow raised and he questioned me with his eyes as to why I had stopped him.

"Ok," he said taking my other hand into his and waiting for me to tell him.

I told him everything about the incident on his balcony this morning. He was completely understanding as to how and why it must have startled me. While holding me in his arms and stroking my hair, he reiterated that he wanted me to share everything with him. I promised him that I always would from now on, no matter how good or bad.

After that he kissed me again and then we left for my appointment with Dr. Bartholomew.

That afternoon during my appointment, I spilled every last detail about what I had been through today, what I was feeling and all about my conversations with Edward and his mother. I didn't leave anything out. I had entered her office with a new determination to lay it all out there in order to hopefully speed the recovery process. Holding back and holding it in would only prolong it.

Dr. Bartholomew was grateful for my honesty. She said if I could adhere to that motto then it would go a long way in speeding the healing process. She explained to me that everything I was experiencing was completely normal. That there would be things that would trigger reactions in me like the car backfiring had and that even though James Reynolds was an awful man that it was normal for me to regret having to take a human life and in time she would help me come to terms with it. She told me to form a support system around myself and to lean on them and let them be there for me. I knew I would rely on Edward the most, but that I also had my family, his family, and Emmett and Rose I could rely on. However Dr. Bartholomew also told me to be careful not to use them as a crutch. That I had been a strong independent woman before this whole fiasco happened and that I could be that woman again. That I had to dig deep down inside and find her and use my strong will to propel myself though this time of healing.

She encouraged me to begin to take the steps to return my life to how it was before. Obviously it wouldn't be exactly the same as I now had Edward in my life and I hoped that that would never change. Dr. Bartholomew said to take it in steps. She said that one way to start would be to get my car and begin to drive myself to work and to other places I needed to go. She also told me that if I was going stir crazy sitting home alone to talk to Emmett and see if I could go back to work early, that there was no reason I couldn't and she would back me on that if need be. If Emmett was not willing to budge then she suggested I catch up on some of the things I had missed out on doing while I was under protection.

By the time I left her office I was feeling much better and more confident than I had all day.

That night Edward and I went to my house and got my car. At first it felt a little strange to be behind the wheel of a car again, but after a few minutes I found that I really enjoyed the freedom of it. We also went inside the house and I was a little unnerved as we went into my bedroom for me to get some more clothes. Edward had asked me if I thought I would ever be able to sleep in that room again and I told him I wasn't sure. He reminded me that I never had to if I didn't want to, but also told me there was no pressure. I could take all the time I needed and whatever I chose, he would support me one hundred percent.

I knew sooner or later I was going to have to make a choice as to my living arrangements. I knew what Edward wanted, and I knew what I wanted before last weekend had occurred. But now I wasn't so sure. I made a mental note to talk to Dr. Bartholomew at my next visit and get her opinion on the situation. The only thing I knew for sure right now was that it was too soon at this point in time for me to decide and I knew that I had to make the choice based on what I really truly wanted to do, not what I felt like I had to do.

When I woke up the next morning I decided instead of asking Emmett about returning to work, I would spend some time with Rose. Our friendship had gotten shuffled to the side while I was housebound and I had really missed her. After making love in the shower, Edward and I got dressed and had breakfast together. We then left the loft at the same time.

As we stood next to my car, Edward teased me and asked if I remembered how to drive. I assured him I did and could drive just as well as he could. He teased me some more saying he doubted that and before I could protest any further, he kissed me senseless like he loved to do. He mouthed he loved me as he turned one way at the corner and was off to work and I went in the opposite direction to Rose and Emmett's house.

On Friday, Edward had his appointment with Dr. Bartholomew and she gave him tips to help support me without it seeming as though he was smothering me, as well as telling him to take the energy from any guilt he was feeling over my being kidnapped and use it to support me instead. She also explained to him that the possessive feelings he had been feeling right after I came home were completely normal. She told him that he had come very close to losing me and it was his minds way of reassuring himself that I was really there and ok and that he hadn't lost me. Dr. Bartholomew told him that as time went on he would feel more secure with what had happened and would be able to move past it. She also had him promise to tell her if it lingered or felt as though it was becoming more severe instead of fading as time went on. He agreed and thanked her for her help.

Then on Monday the ninth, I returned to work ready to accept and tackle my next case. Later the same week on Friday, Edward and I attended a farewell party for Jessica. It was the first time I had met her partner Lauren and it was easy to see that they were very much in love. Near the end of the evening when Jessica was giving a short speech and saying goodbye to all of us, she made the announcement that just yesterday her and Lauren had learned that their most recent attempt at in-vitro had been successful and they would be welcoming a baby into their lives next spring. Apparently Lauren had made amends with her parents and they had helped them with the financing for the procedure.

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, Edward and I both began to settle into a new routine. We were taking things little by little and it was gradually becoming easier for me to function normally.

I was sleeping better, I was more comfortable being out in public and wasn't looking over my shoulder so much anymore. There were still times now and then that would trigger a memory, but I was learning that I could still be an independent woman and run to Edward for support when I needed to. It was all about balance and we were finding it together. I had even ventured to the store a few times by myself. Edward and I enjoyed doing things like going to Pike's market and going for walks through the park and I had even gone running with him a few times. We had been so inactive while being stuck in the house together that it was a bit of a challenge for us both. But it was also a great way to relieve stress. Well besides Edward's favorite way which was in the bedroom. There was rarely a day that went by without us making love and he certainly wouldn't find me complaining about that.

We had been back to my house a few times and each time it was becoming easier. We began to spend short periods of time there and it got better each time. Edward had also begun wooing me, as he put it. He claimed we never really got to enjoy the early part of a relationship of dating and the little things that went along with it and he wanted to experience that with me. Edward would send me cards and flowers asking me out on dates. The first time he sent flowers it was identical to the ones he had sent in Capri. The orange and lavender roses were gorgeous and I found myself falling even more in love with him. We went to the zoo, he took me to a Seattle Mariners' baseball game, and on an evening dinner cruise out on Puget Sound. It was a beautiful and romantic night as we watched the sun set over the water. It was one of my favorite dates we had gone on and I was thrilled to learn that the small yacht we had been on belonged to his parents so we could do it again whenever we wanted.

Life wasn't perfect; things were still changing and evolving. But whether we were spending a lazy evening relaxing on his rooftop patio, having dinner with friends and family, or out on a romantic date, I still had that one big decision looming over me. Do I move in with Edward or move back to my house? Sooner or later I was going to have to make the choice. I just hoped that I made the right one.

**Loved it, hated it, let me know. Don't forget to join us for the Indie Fic Pimp's readalong of Truths, Lies and Alibis this link is on my blog along with the polyvore for this chapter. Blog link** **http:/eternallyaddicted(.)blogspot(.)com/**

**Thanks for reading, see ya next time,**

**EA**


	27. Don't You Wanna Stay

**Happy Saturday everyone! Thank you Hope4more and My-Bella for all your help. My-Bella thank you for staying up until 2AM to get this chapter read so I could get it posted today. **

**To my dear friend MedusaInNY, I have used a word in this chapter just for you. Let me know if you find it. LOL :)**

**I also want to thank everyone who voted for and took part in the readalong last Saturday night. It was a lot of fun. And thank you to NoelleSeven for the awesome pictures she made me for this chapter. If you haven't already, go check them out. There are several this time. I also need to thank Hadley Hemingway and NoelleSeven for my crash course in Psychology 101.  
**

**Of course Stephenie Meyer owns it all. **

**Now on to the chapter. You might want to bring a drink, a snack and maybe a tissue or two for this one. See you at the bottom.**

_I really hate to let this moment go  
Touching your __skin__, and your hair falling slow  
When a goodbye kiss, feels like this_

_Don't you wanna stay here a little while?  
Don't you wanna hold each other tight?  
Don't you wanna fall asleep with me __tonight__?_

_Don't you wanna stay here a little while?  
We can make forever feel this way  
Don't you wanna stay?_

_**Don't You Wanna Stay by Jason Aldean featuring Kelly Clarkson**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**August 30, 2010**_

The past few weeks had been incredibly busy. Besides settling into a new routine at home with Edward, I was also busy with a new case at work. Thank goodness it wasn't a murder case. I wasn't quite ready to have to face someone like that just yet. Although handling a missing person's case wasn't much easier because the outcome weren't usually good. But Sam and I were working the case together and we seemed to get along easily. I was comfortable working with him since I knew without a doubt I could trust him.

The other thing that was helping to make life hectic was assisting Emmett and Seth pull together all the pieces for the case against that mutt Jacob Black and Reynolds' attorney Marcus Volturi. I was playing a minor roll, only verifying or discrediting the details that I knew to be true or false based on what both men had confessed to me, but I was still involved and couldn't wait for it to all be done.

The list of charges they were both facing was a long one. From what Emmett had told me, Black seemed resigned to accept his fate and had been completely cooperative in answering all their questions. However when you are facing charges such as two counts of Felony Aggravated Murder, Felony Kidnapping, Involuntary Manslaughter, and the Unlawful Imprisonment and Drugging of a federal agent, there wasn't much hope for him. And those were only compounded by the fact that he was a federal agent himself and would also be hit with a Malfeasance of Duty charge since he failed to uphold his position as a FBI agent. Jacob Black had violated just about every code of conduct we had sworn to enforce. Emmett said at this point he felt as though Black was trying to simply do whatever he could to keep his case from going to trial so he didn't have to put his family through that kind of an ordeal and to cut a good enough deal to save himself from death row.

I tried not to dwell on what his sentence would be. I knew that because he had murdered the two guards driving the transport van in cold blood he deserved to die. But quite honestly all that mattered to me was that he would never be a free man again and on some level I took comfort in the fact that if he didn't get the death penalty he could very well end up in prison with some of the same criminals he helped put there. If Black's life were spared, he'd be going to a federal maximum security prison with some of the worst criminals alive and not one of those club fed type places seen on TV or in the movies. There'd be no Martha Stewart there to make it cozy for him.

As far as the attorney went, Volturi was facing jail time and disbarment. For helping Reynolds arrange the apples and notes, he would be charged with Third Degree Stalking and could face up to three years in jail for that alone. His part in my kidnapping had earned him a charge of Arranging Irregular Travel and could mean an additional three years in jail. Even if he somehow cut a deal, Volturi would never practice law again. He would be disbarred for Malfeasance since as an attorney he knew what he was doing was wrong.

Emmett and Seth were still investigating and trying to find out if Volturi was aware of Reynolds' plans to escape. If they could prove he knew, then they would also charge him with Accessory to Murder for the deaths of the transport van guards. At this time Volturi was claiming he had no part or clue that escaping had been Reynolds' intention. He was giving us the name of every person he had ever known to be associated with Reynolds' illegal dealings, including the man Black had dealt with for all his gambling loans, Laurent Rousseau. Agents had recently raided the casino, shutting it down and arresting several people. So it was a matter of sorting it all out. The raid had turned out to be such a huge crime and drug bust that it had Erikson and his colleagues all practically foaming at the mouth with excitement. This was the type of activity that got departments noticed, bringing more funding and promotions.

With both Jacob and Volturi talking, it should have been easy to close this case, and it almost was. The one glitch was that Volturi swore he was clueless about Reynolds' true plans while Black claimed the attorney had been fully aware of everything from the start—both men had reason to lie. If Volturi was charged with Accessory to murder for the guards' deaths, he faced at least forty years in prison. Black was already staring down death row. Faced with two desperate criminals, we had to thoroughly investigate everything either of them said.

_**September 3, 2010 **_

I was currently sitting in Dr. Bartholomew's office with about fifteen minutes left in my appointment when she asked the question that I had been trying to avoid. But at the same time, it was the question I couldn't get out of my head.

"Bella, have you made a decision regarding your current living arrangements?"

I looked away from her and stared intently at the pattern on the rug covering most of her office floor. We had talked about the same topic during my second session after the kidnapping and then again a couple of weeks ago. Both times I had told her I was torn about what I wanted to do. This past time she had encouraged me to do some serious soul searching on it because it wasn't fair to either Edward or me for things to be hanging in limbo. And the longer I stayed it was like I was unconsciously making a decision.

Edward had been a saint. Apparently Dr. Bartholomew had spoken to him about the decision I was struggling with as well, which caused him to bring it up with me. But he hadn't come right out and asked me what I was going to do. Instead he had told me there was no pressure for me to choose one way or the other. He had told me how he felt, that he still wanted me to move in with him. But he had also said he would understand completely if I needed to move back to my house and would support me no questions asked either way.

"Bella, don't look away," Dr. Bartholomew said. "As difficult a decision as it is, you have nothing to be ashamed, resentful or guilty about."

I nodded knowing she was right and returned my gaze to hers.

"So have you made any headway in your choice?"

"No…er… well not much. Any advice or words of wisdom you could share would be greatly appreciated," I said to her in a half joking manner. But the truth was, I wasn't really joking. As wrong as it might be, on some level I think I was waiting for someone to tell me what they thought I should do and no one was doing it.

Dr. Bartholomew caught on to me right away. "Bella, if you are waiting for me to tell you what I think you should do, that's not going to happen. No one can make the choice but you. I can, however, give you some advice on making it if you'd like."

"Sure," I said, hoping what she had to say might help me in making my choice.

"Let me ask you a few questions first."

"Ok."

"You've told me that you have been spending more time at you home lately. Correct?"

"Yes. Edward and I even had some friends over for dinner there last weekend."

"So you've had people over, spent time with Edward there, but not spent the night in your bedroom?"

I nodded and she continued. "Have you spent any time alone there or have you slept in the house at all?"

"I haven't slept there. Mostly all I have gone in there for is to retrieve clothes or other items I might need. But on a few occasions Edward and I have spent the evening or afternoon there and I have gone alone a few times when I needed to get something and Edward was staying late at work or otherwise busy."

"And how do you feel when you go in there? How did it feel to be in the house alone?"

"Being in the house itself wasn't so bad. At first it was a little eerie, but after a few visits I was comfortable there. Um…the bedroom was really hard in the beginning and at first I refused to go in it alone. It was a painful reminder of the fact that someone had invaded my home. I had flashes of seeing the apples on my bed and finding the pictures in my bed."

"But it's easier now?"

"Yes. Edward cleaned the room up, put everything back in its place and I can go in there now and get what I need without having any lingering effects. But I still don't know if I could sleep there. It's still a reminder. I feel as if someone has been in my bed uninvited. Does that make sense?"

"It does. It was a very private space and how you feel is perfectly understandable and justified. Sleeping in there would be hard for anyone to do. Other than the reminder of what happened in the room, is there anything else that is holding you back?"

I hesitated for a moment on whether or not to tell her my other reason. But I knew if anyone could help me move past it, she could. "Yes, Edward."

"Explain please. You said he wasn't pressuring you to make a decision so how is he holding you back?"

"I guess it really isn't him; it's my own worries about how he will feel if I do. He has done nothing but support me and encourage me to do what I need to do to move on; but I don't want him to think that I am refusing him in some way if I choose to move back home. I don't want to hurt his feelings I love him with my whole heart. But on some level I think I need to live on my own again if for no other reason than to know that I can. I want to be certain that when we do take the step to live together permanently it's because it is truly what I want and not because I am afraid to be alone."

"I think that is a very valid need to have. As you and Edward have both explained to me, your relationship came about in a very unconventional way and you had no choice but to live with him. So here is what I want you to do. I have a couple of things I want you to think about this weekend and we will talk more about them next week. One of the things is something I actually want you to try."

"Sure, what is it?" I asked curiously. I knew it was going to have to do with the choice I needed to make and I wouldn't be surprised if she insisted that I talk with Edward about my feelings. However, I was also worried that she was going to tell me I needed to try and spend the night in my house.

"First thing, I want you to do is talk to Edward. Tell him the things you have told me today about your fears over choosing to live in your own home again. Also before I tell you what the second thing is, I need to know does your house have a guest bedroom or a sofa sleeper?"

"Yes it has a guest bedroom. Why?"

"I want you to give some serious thought to thinking about, or actually going through the process of, spending the night in your house. If you are comfortable in the rest of the house, then perhaps you can sleep in the guest room. Then if that works you could possibly consider swapping your room for your guest room. Or maybe given some time, something as simple as a new bedding set, a fresh coat of paint or something of that nature, would give your room a fresh enough appearance to allow you to use it again."

"Is this something I should do on my own?" I asked, knowing there was probably no chance of me getting any sleep if I were alone in the house. Even at Edward's loft I sometimes had a hard enough time falling back to sleep in the mornings if he got up and left before me.

"If you feel you can, yes. If not, then by all means let Edward stay with you. But I do want sleeping there alone to be something you work towards. I guess Bella, what I am trying to say is that your reasons for thinking you need to live on your own again are very valid. I can see how much you and Edward care for one another and I think you would be doing each other, as well as your relationship, a complete injustice if you were second guessing your motives for living together. As I said before, you were a strong independent woman before Edward came into your life and I think it would be to your benefit to find that woman again. I am sure she is a big part of the woman Edward fell in love with. That doesn't mean he doesn't love who you are now, it simply means it is my belief that the 'what ifs' would haunt you. Now if you can be one hundred percent sure without any doubt at all that you want to move in with him now and you can be certain of your reasons for it, then by all means do so. You are the only one who can be absolutely sure about how you feel. Edward has made it clear he will support you in whatever you decide so if you are the slightest bit uncertain then I think you should take the steps to live on your own again, even if it is just for a short period of time. I also think that if you can do that, it will go a long way in your healing process and help you feel as though you have regained who you were before the incidents took place."

"You've given me a lot to think about. I'm going to really think things through and talk to Edward about them and work on making a decision. I also promise to try and spend at least one night in my house."

"Good. And don't put it off. The longer you wait and over-think it, the harder it will be."

I left Dr. Bartholomew's office that afternoon already partially having made my mind up. I knew she was right in everything she had said to me, although it didn't make it any easier to face. I was so worried that if I did choose to move back to my house, Edward was going to be hurt. I didn't want him to think that I was rejecting him or that I didn't love him and want to live with him eventually. Because when it came right down to it, I did want to live with him; I just wanted to feel like I was a whole person again before I did it. Like my doctor had said, I didn't want those 'what ifs' constantly creeping into our lives. Once Edward and I made the decision to live together permanently, I wanted it to be filled with love and happiness and never have any sort of grey cloud hanging over our heads.

That night while lying in bed with Edward, I knew I couldn't put off the discussion any longer. We had both been unusually quiet all during dinner and over the course of the evening. It was as if we were both waiting for that right moment to talk about it, but instead it just sat there like a giant elephant in the room weighing on us both.

Edward crawled into bed next to me after finishing his nightly routine in the bathroom and pulled me into his arms as he always did. We had made love nearly every night so when he began trailing kisses along my neck I knew I had to talk now or I would be lost to the bliss of our passion and never get a word in about my appointment today. Cupping his face in my hands, I pulled it from my neck and kissed him softly. "We need to talk. I need to tell you about my session today with Dr. Bartholomew," I murmured to him.

He kissed me on the forehead and said, "Ok," before rolling off me and onto his side, taking me with him. Needing the security and close contact of his body, I slid my leg between his and my arm around his waist. I took a deep breath and blew it out as I figured out where to begin. Sensing my hesitancy, Edward brushed my hair back from my face and said, "Hey, don't be scared. Whatever it is, we will work through it together. I'm not going anywhere, Bella. I love you too much for that to happen."

I nodded and then began. I explained to him everything I had talked to the doctor about today…about how she felt I needed to at least be able to sleep in my own house again and do it alone before I made any decision about my living arrangements. He seemed to agree and understand everything the doctor and I had discussed and what she wanted me to do. He had told me about having similar discussions with her himself, although he was only going to be seeing her once a month now in more of a supportive role for me. She had told him he could always schedule an extra appointment or call her at anytime if it was necessary.

Trailing his fingers up and down the contours of my spine he asked, "So when do you want to give this spending the night there thing a shot?"

"I was actually thinking tomorrow night. The lawn needs to be mowed so I thought we could go over to take care of that and have dinner there as well."

"That sounds good."

"Um, I was actually wondering what you would think of us staying there all of next week if tomorrow night goes well?" I asked as I laid there in his arms, chewing nervously on my lip and trying to take comfort in his fingers combing through my hair. It always relaxed me tremendously and I was trying to hone in on that feeling as I waited for his reply. I knew he had said several times he would back me no matter what choice I made. But I knew how difficult it was for him to do it, even if he was putting up a brave front. The pain was always there in his eyes, and I didn't want him to think I was pushing him away again.

"Wow. All week huh?" he asked letting out a long whoosh of air and rolling over onto his back.

"I'm sorry," I whispered as I let my head fall to rest on his shoulder.

"Don't be. Don't be sorry or feel guilty. And don't worry that you're hurting me. The last think you need to do right now is worry about me. I want you to focus on yourself. You need this and I _know_ that. At the same time, I need to be honest with you but I don't want my feelings to influence your decision. I just want you to know about them. With that being said, if moving back to your house is what you need to get past what's happened so we can move on together, then I'm game for anything. Once _we_ get you past this time of healing, everything else will fall into place."

The moon was full and lit the room enough that I could see the pain in his deep green eyes. He was doing a good job of hiding it with his words, but he couldn't mask the disappointed look that was there.

"God, why does this have to be so hard?" I whined in frustration. "I hate what I am doing to you by putting you through this. I hate that I feel this overwhelming need to get back the part of me those sick bastards took away."

"Bella, stop beating yourself up over this. It's ok," he told me pulling me to his chest with his arm that was now wrapped completely around me.

"No. It's not ok and it's not fair. You have done so much for me. So you tell me how it's fair, how it's ok when all you have done is support me, comfort me, love me and take care of _me _and _I _can't give _you_ the one thing you need right now. It's so hard because I know I need to do this to feel whole again. But just as much as I do need it, I also need for you to know that no matter what, you have me, I'm yours. I love you and that won't change no matter where we live."

"Sweetness, I know you love me, and I know that you want to protect me. I also know you don't want to hurt me. But sometimes in life we have to do things we don't want to. Things we don't like. No it's not easy for either one of us. But we _will_ get past it and we _will_ do it together. When I met you on the beach that night three months ago, even though you might have been in hiding so to speak, you were so much more confident and full of life. And even though it's going to be hard for us both at times, I want to see you become that person again just as much as you need to be."

I felt my eyes begin to fill with tears as I thought about his words. He was the most amazing man in the world and I would forever be grateful for stumbling upon him that night on the beach. I didn't know if it were God or some strange cosmic force that had brought us together, but his strength and determination gave me the courage to face whatever tough times lay ahead of us as we went through the process of putting the nightmare we had lived behind us.

"Have I told you what a wonderful man you are and how very much I love you?"

"You have, but I'll never tire of hearing it," he said, leaning up and placing a soft lingering kiss on my lips.

"I do, I really do love you so much, Edward."

"I love you too."

We laid there quietly for a few minutes, taking comfort in being in each other's arms as we soaked in all that we had just said.

"So," Edward said, breaking the silence and letting the word hang out there for a minute before he finished what he wanted to say. Rolling over to face me again and encasing me completely in his strong arms he asked, "If this goes well this week, then what?"

"If it goes well, then I think I need to move back home for a while."

"That's what I thought you'd say."

In that moment I hated myself. Edward was doing a damn good job of hiding his disappointment but I still knew it was there. I didn't have to be an empath to know exactly how bad he wanted us to live together and to get on with our future. He had made his wants and needs perfectly clear. I couldn't help but feel that a small piece of him was breaking and it was all because of me even though hurting him was the last thing I wanted to do

"Don't say it," he ordered, fully knowing what I was about to say. He continued not giving me a chance to disagree with him. "Don't tell me you're sorry again. Because like I've told you hundred times before, you have nothing to be sorry for. I might not like it, but I do understand and I want what's best for you and best for us."

"Are you sure? I know it hurts you that I can't stay and give you what you want right now."

"I am. Like I said, I might not like it but I really do understand why you need this, Bella. I understand the sense of independence you lost when that bastard turned your life upside down. So let's promise each other right now to quit focusing on the negative and instead focus on getting you healed so that when the time is right and you are ready, we can take that step. You can take all the time you need, I'll be here ready to do so whenever you are."

I reached up and grazed my fingers along the pronounced line of his jaw, enjoying the hint of stubble that was there. Knowing Edward supported me so whole-heartedly made it much easier to decide, and I knew I would be doing this as much for him as for myself. He deserved to have the woman he loved whole and able to give him one hundred percent of herself. I couldn't do that if I was haunted by 'what ifs'.

"I don't know what I did you to deserve you, Edward Cullen. But I know I don't ever want to lose you. I was so stupid when we first came back from Capri and I pushed you away. Please, _please_ don't ever feel like that is what I am doing now because I'm not. I'm just trying to get back what that monster took from me and I need you there to help me through it. I hope you know how very, very much need you."

"I do, Sweetness, I really do," he said before lowering his lips to mine and kissing me in a way that proved he truly did understand. "Besides," he said as he broke away to catch his breath. "Look at it this way, it will give me a chance to woo you some more. To take you on real dates and surprise you. It's kinda hard to plan surprises for you now. So be ready 'cause I am gonna romance you and knock your socks off, Isabella Marie Swan.

"Oh really," I said, pushing him over onto his back and running my hands across his chest. Now that we had had a chance for us to both to completely get all of our feelings on the subject out in the open, I felt more at ease about what we were facing. Edward had somehow managed to erase all of my fears about choosing to move home and now all I wanted was to show him how much I loved him and appreciated him.

"Really," he said. His voice was husky and dripping with desire now that we had gotten the heavy stuff out of the way.

"Well, what about the rest of my clothes?" I asked as I crawled on top of him and straddled his waist, clad in nothing more than a bra and panties.

"Mmmmm," he purred as he grasped my hips and scooted me back far enough to feel his very excited state of arousal. "I think they will have to go too." He sat up and licked the swell of my breast along the edge of my lace bra as his hands slid up my back and undid the clasp. He pushed the straps off my shoulders and tossed the bra across the room not caring where it landed. "Lift up," he growled softly. When I stood he practically tore my panties off me. After I helped him remove his boxers, he pulled me back to him in the same position I had been in before. "Now where were we?" he asked as he skimmed his nose along my collar bone before dipping his head and taking my breast in his mouth.

We were lost in each other as we took our time making love, completely unaware of anything else in the world except the love flowing between us. There wasn't a spot that went untouched on either of us as we showed each other through our touches and caresses what we couldn't with words, making sure that there was no doubt about the love and commitment we had to one another. By the time we drifted to sleep, the connection between us was stronger than it had ever been and I knew we would get through what lay ahead of us no matter how hard it was.

**September 6, 2010**

The weekend had gone much better than I had expected it would. We had spent the entire time at my house and sleeping in the guest bedroom had been easier than I thought it would. Edward had said that I was restless Saturday night and I had woken him up a few times in my tossing and turning, but because he had slept well last night I knew that I had also. Although I knew the real test would come once I tried to sleep here on my own.

This morning during breakfast Edward and I had decided that since things had gone well this weekend we would go ahead and stay here all week. If the rest of the week went well, then when we came back from Forks next weekend I would give staying here alone a shot.

I had just arrived at my house after a long day at work and found myself standing in the doorway to my bedroom. I was thinking about what Dr. Bartholomew had said about making some changes to the room in order to help erase the bad memories. The room was rather plain since I had never done anything to it when I moved in figuring I would be the only one who was ever going to see it. I was lost in my thoughts when I heard the front door open.

"Bella," I heard Edward shout as he closed the front door hard enough to alert me someone was there.

I called out to him, "Up here."

I heard him coming up the stairs and almost instantly his arms were snaking around my waist and his lips were on the side of my neck kissing his favorite spot just below my ear.

"Whatcha doing? You ok?" he asked while skimming his nose along my neck. I could feel his warm breath on my skin. It sent tingling sensations down my spine. Sometimes I felt like he had more control over my body than I did. It responded to him in ways I couldn't even fathom and I didn't think I could stop it even if I wanted to.

"Um," I said, trying to find the strength to speak and not melt into a puddle of goo. "I was just…just thinking about what Dr. Bartholomew said about making some changes to my room."

"What would you do?"

"Well I think I would paint the walls for starters. Something soft and relaxing. I've needed a new bed for quite a while. I also have tons of family pictures that I would love to have on display, but I have no idea where to put them or how to arrange them."

"You should ask my mom to help you."

"She's so busy, I hate to bother her," I said to him as I turned in his arms and looked up into his sparkling eyes.

"Bella, she would love to help you. My mother adores you and would love to help you redo your room if that's what you choose to do."

"Well then maybe I will give her a call next week once we are back from Forks."

"Sounds good," he said before he took my hand and pulling me towards the stairs saying, "Let's go fix dinner, I'm starving."

_**September 10, 2010**_

It was Friday morning and I was really looking forward to the weekend. The last couple of days had gone well and I was getting used to being back in my own home, but the case I was working on was wearing on me and I was ready to spend a few days in the quiet town I grew up in. We would be leaving tomorrow morning and staying in Forks until Monday afternoon when we brought Nana back to Seattle with us for her flight back to Capri on Monday evening. I was going to be sad to see her go, but I was happy for her to finally be able to return to her own home and her life. I knew she missed her friends as well and it was important to me that she wasn't hanging in limbo anymore. She had been uprooted from her life just as much as I had and I was relieved that was no longer the case.

After spending most of the day following up on some leads for my current case, and going over some details with Emmett about Black's statements. Towards the end of the day I spoke with Dr. Bartholomew about my progress. I filled her in on how things were going with Edward and me staying at my house and what plans I had made in regards to moving back into my own home. She was very pleased with the progress I was making. I told her what Edward had said about using the time to plan surprises for me and Dr. Bartholomew felt that some time living apart could actually be very beneficial for my and Edward's relationship. She also stated that Edward and I had never really had the opportunity to miss one another before and suggested we might be pleased with how it could strengthen the bond we had and how much more we would appreciate what we had. She said that the old saying, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder', really did have some true merit to it.

My appointment ran over in time so when I returned to my office it was time to head home for the weekend. I called Edward to let him know I was running late and left him a voicemail when he didn't answer his phone. I figured he was either busy with something work related or driving and couldn't answer. I then quickly gathered my laptop and other things and left to go home.

When I pulled into my driveway, I was surprised to see that Edward's car was not there. I had expected him to be here already and was actually surprised I had not gotten a call from him asking where I was after I had left him a message.

Hoping that he was simply stuck at work or maybe in traffic I made my way into the house.

To say I was shocked when I walked through the front door would be an understatement. The living room had several vases of purple and white calla lilies all around it, and on the coffee table there was a note with a single lily laying on it.

Written on the envelope in Edward's masculine scribble was "Sweetness". As I tore open the note, I was smiling so widely my cheeks began to hurt. I pulled out the crisp bright white piece of paper, unfolded it and read the note.

_Bella,_

_I believe the day you were born is truly a day that should be celebrated. Since we will be otherwise occupied on Monday, your birthday, I wanted to give you a special evening tonight. _

_Please go upstairs to the guestroom and put on the dress and other items I have left there for you. At 7pm a limo will arrive to pick you up and take you to the destination of the evening I have planned for us. _

_I will be there waiting for you. _

_All my love forever,_

_Edward_

I quickly glanced at my watch and noticed I had just barely more than an hour to be ready in time for the limo to arrive. I raced up the stairs to the guest room and was surprised to find lying on the bed a gorgeous green dress.

The dress had an asymmetric one shouldered design and was made of forest green silk. It had a layered ruffled trim that began at the shoulder strap, ran across the top and down the entire left side of the dress, and gathered along the ruffle for a ruched effect. I loved it. As I looked over the dress, I noticed another note lying on the bed next to where the dress had been. This note like the one downstairs also had a single lily with it. This time the note read:

_Sweetness,_

_In case you were wondering, there is a reason I chose the calla lily. It means magnificent beauty. However pretty the flower might be, its beauty pales in comparison to yours. You are much more magnificently beautiful to me._

_I love you,_

_Edward_

I couldn't hold back the tears of joy that spilled from my eyes. I had fallen in love with the most spectacular man in the world. They just didn't come any better than Edward Cullen.

Raising the lily to my nose, I inhaled its sweet scent. When I went to set it back down on the bed, I noticed that not only had Edward provided me with a beautiful dress for the evening, he also had a purse and shoes for me. I had a sneaky suspicion Alice was in on the planning of my ensemble, but if I knew Edward as well as I thought I did, he didn't just give his sister free reign. I was fairly certain he had a hand in at least picking the dress out.

I set my note and flower back down on the bed and walked down the hall from where I was in the guest bedroom to my room. I needed to get a strapless bra to wear with the dress Edward had picked for me. While I was in there I thought since Edward was making this date such a special night for me, I wanted it to be special for him as well. I dug through my dresser drawer until I found the black lace strapless bra and panty set I had never worn. I carefully removed the tags from the set and then walked over to my dresser to retrieve my perfume. I reached to grab it from the spot I always set it in but it was gone. I looked across the surface of the dresser thinking maybe I had set it down in the wrong spot, but my perfume wasn't there. Turning around I went to go see if I had maybe left it in the bathroom. It had been weeks since I had worn it. I remembered I had forgotten to pack it when we went to Vancouver for Alice's wedding so it was before then that I had last worn it.

When my perfume wasn't on the bathroom vanity either, I checked the medicine cabinet just to be sure. I searched the vanity cabinet, my nightstand, every place I could think of where it might possibly be. When my perfume was still missing, I began to think about the last time I had worn it, trying to remember if I had by some small chance set it somewhere else in the house or if maybe I had taken it to Edward's with me.

That was when the memory hit me. I leaned against the wall to steady myself as it slammed into me, nearly paralyzing me as I was forced to remember the day we had come home from Vancouver and discovered someone had invaded my home. The memory was overwhelming as I relived it standing in my room staring at my dresser and thinking something was missing. Now I knew exactly what that something had been.

I squeezed my eyes shut and willed the images to disappear. Flashes of the apples on my bed, the pictures falling out of my blankets and even worse image of that sick bastard Reynolds somehow getting some warped sense of enjoyment out of smelling my perfume, bombarded me. When they didn't immediately fade away my head started to spin as my heart rate sped and my breathing became short frantic gasps. Somehow I recognized the fact I was having a panic attack and began to try and focus on the breathing techniques Dr. Bartholomew had taught me in one of my weekly appointments.

I concentrated on slowing down my breathing, taking longer slower natural breaths to calm my racing heart in the process. As my breathing gradually began to slow, I pulled in more air and held it briefly before releasing it slowly to further calm myself.

Now feeling much more in control of the situation, I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor. I leaned forward and rested my head on my knees and continued the breathing routine until I eventually had it completely under control again. After a few more minutes I was finally able to sit up and stretch my legs out and relax.

When I was certain I was completely over the panic attack, I pulled myself up off the floor and made my way back to the guest bedroom to make the first of two phone calls.

The first call was to Dr. Bartholomew. She wanted me to keep her apprised of any panic attacks or other setbacks I had. Plus I was still somewhat rattled about what I'd just experienced and I needed to calm myself a bit more before I talked to Edward. I knew if I was a mess when I talked him, he'd be beside himself worried about me and we'd never make it to whatever he had planned for tonight.

Dr. Bartholomew was pleased that I had been able to calm myself and bring myself out of the attack, but suggested that even though things had been going well for me at my house that I take a break from it for a few days and then begin the process all over again. I told her that I would go back to Edward's loft with him tonight and then we would be in Forks until Monday. She felt that was good idea and that the time away with my family would help. She then reminded me to call any time I needed her, and after I thanked her we ended the call.

Taking a few more relaxing pulls of air, I felt calm enough to speak to Edward. I knew just hearing his voice would help me even further. He knew me so well and could pick up on the tiniest things in just the sound of my voice. It was actually becoming easier for both of us to do things like read each other's body language and facial expressions, along with picking up on what we were feeling by the sound of our voices. And as we got better at it, the bond between us got stronger.

I also knew that my panic attack had cut into the time I needed to get ready for our dinner date and there was no way I was going to be ready to go by the time he'd said the limo would be arriving.

"Hello, Sweetness," he crooned sweetly into the phone.

"Hi," I replied softly and felt a small smile playing on my lips as the sound of his voice instantly helped me feel better just like I knew it would. It was like a lullaby soothing me.

"Everything ok? You sound upset."

"No, or actually I wasn't. But before you freak out let me explain and assure you I _am_ ok now," I stammered out.

"Bella, what happened? If you need me I can be there in fifteen minutes."

_My hero, ready to leap tall buildings and save the day for me._

"I'm ok now I promise. And I will tell you all about it later, but not now. I don't want to ruin our evening. You've obviously put a lot of thought into it and I don't want all your hard work to go to waste."I said to him.

Then without going into the full details, I told Edward what had happened. I also explained that I was going to need a little longer to get ready. Hearing a long sigh come through the phone, I really hoped that he didn't insist on us staying in; as I really didn't want to argue with him. I wasn't trying to ignore what had happened, but I didn't want to let it run my life either. I was tired of letting the actions of those two hideous men rule my life. This was about me taking my life back and that was exactly what I wanted to do.

"Bella, we can do what I planned another night. If you need me to cancel our plans I can. Making sure you're ok is what's important to me."

"No," I told him confidently. "You aren't cheating me out of a chance to wear that gorgeous dress. I promise I'm ok now and quite honestly I need the distraction. Besides what else is better than spending the evening with my super sexy boyfriend? A date with you is the best way I can think of to spend the evening. We're supposed to be making up for lost time, remember?"

"Super sexy huh?" I could hear the smile in his voice as he said the words. I couldn't help rolling my eyes at him even if he couldn't see it. He knew damn well how good looking he was. Women's heads turned to catch a peak at him everywhere we went. He didn't pay much attention to it, but he knew it was going on. Some women might be jealous, but I found it more fun to simply smile at them since I knew he was all mine.

"Don't let it go to your head, hot stuff," I giggled as I chastised him playfully.

Edward then told me he would notify the limo driver to allow me more time. After again asking to make sure I was ok, he told me he loved me and that he'd see me soon. We said our goodbyes and I let out a breath of relief that he hadn't argued with me about us still going out tonight. Over the past few weeks I had been enjoying all of his wooing abilities as he called them. Edward definitely wasn't lacking when it came to knowing how to romance a girl and I was excited to see what he had planned for us tonight.

A short time later, I was almost ready to go. All I had left to do was put on my dress and slip on my shoes. I undid the hidden side zipper of the dress and pulled it up my body after I stepped into it. The dress felt amazing. The fabric was silky and smooth, almost like a second skin. After I slipped my shoes on, I stood in front of the full length mirror on the bathroom door. Taking in my appearance, I noticed that the dress looked pretty good on me too. It hugged me and accentuated all the right places. But at the last second I decided to make one small adjustment. I took a hair pin and secured the left side of my hair back behind my ear. It made my left shoulder and the left side of my neck completely bare for Edward, giving him a bit of the best of both worlds. He loved my hair down so he could play with it, but he also enjoyed having my neck exposed for him to kiss whenever he wanted.

It was time to leave so I quickly tossed what I needed into the purse Edward had gotten me and went downstairs. Just as I reached the bottom step, my cellphone chirped with a new text. It was from Edward and it said the limo was waiting.

Opening the front door, I was greeted with the sight of my sexy-as-sin boyfriend leaning against the side of the limo with that one of a kind smirk of his plastered on his face.

I shut and locked the door behind me, double checking it and began walking towards the love of my life. He met me in the middle and after taking my hand and kissing it, he presented me with a single long stem red rose.

"For you, my love," he said as he handed the flower to me.

"Thank you," I whispered with a huge smile. I took a whiff the rose's fragrant smell and fought to keep my wits about me while I swooned from his romantic gesture_. Who needs Romeo when they can have Edward Cullen? Not me._

"You look stunning, Sweetness," he said to me as he took the hand he was holding and twirled me around once.

"You look pretty amazing too," I said. My eyes raked over his perfect profile; his tall frame, his strong chin and the outline of his chiseled jaw. He had changed out of the slacks and polo he had worn to work this morning and was now wearing a charcoal grey suit with a white dress shirt and coordinating tie. One word summed him up—perfection.

"You ready to begin our evening?"

"Yes, but I thought you were meeting me there?" I asked surprised, but happy to see him. I would much rather ride in the limo with him than alone.

"I was but since I had extra time, I wanted to make sure you were ok."

"That was very sweet of you," I said before rising up on my tip toes and kissing him.

"I know you told me you were ok and I believe you. I guess I just needed to see you. I'm sorry, it's only because I love you."

"I know. And I love you too. I just need for you to trust me when I say I'm ok."

"I do. I just…I just needed to see you."

"I love that you want to protect me from everything, and I love knowing you are there for me if I need you. I promise I won't tell you I'm ok if I'm not. Deal?"

"Deal." He gave me a quick peck on the lips and then asked again, "You ready to go?"

"Lead the way, Sir."

He took my hand and led me to the limo where the driver promptly jumped out and opened the door for us. Once we were inside and on our way, Edward handed me a glass of champagne and proposed a toast.

"I know that today isn't your actual birthday, but I wanted to give you this special night to show you how much I love you and to make it a happy occasion for you. So here's to your birthday, my love, and to us sharing many, many more of them together."

We tapped our glasses together and took a sip of the champagne. He then leaned forward and placed a sweet kiss on my lips.

"I love you," I said to him as I gently caressed the side of his face.

"I love you too."

We rode quietly for a few minutes before Edward broke the silence.

"So, um," he said, as he cleared his throat and continued. While he did I noticed he was reaching into his suit coat pocket. "I got you a little something for your birthday and I wanted to give it to you now instead of waiting until Monday. We are after all celebrating your birthday tonight so I thought it was fitting that the birthday girl had a gift."

"Edward, you didn't have to get me anything. I mean the dress, the shoes, the purse…and I am assuming we are going to dinner. Really it is more than enough."

"I had a feeling you would say that so I kept it small." He looked adorable sitting next to me giving me a pleading look with a boyish cute smile on his face.

"Ok, ok. I'll be nice and accept your gift graciously."

His smile instantly widened and was so bright it could light the whole town of Seattle. When he pulled the box from behind his back where he had hidden it, I saw it was a particular shade of blue and had a certain trademark white ribbon around it. I was no longer worried about the size of the gift as much as I was worried about the size of the price tag. Something in the expression on my face must have given my thoughts away.

"What?" he asked still holding the box in his hand.

"Tiffany's, Edward?"

"What's wrong with Tiffany's? You deserve nothing but the best, and you didn't complain when I gave you your necklace."

"Yeah but you didn't get it at Tiffany's," I whispered.

"How do you know?"

"The box."

"Geez, remind me next time to switch the box.

"Edward!" I exclaimed, while laughing and smacking him lightly on the leg.

"What? If you are gonna get so bent out of shape over the box, then I'll change it," he said though his chuckles. "Now are you going to pout about where I bought your gift or are you going let me give it to you?"

"Ok."

"Ok what, Sweetness? You are going to have to do better than that."

He was teasing me now and I guess I deserved it. I really did want the gift. I just didn't want him to spend too much money on me.

"Beeelllllaaa," he said. His voice was low and husky as he drug out my name, causing every nerve in my body to tingle from its effects on me. He pulled me against his chest, trapping me against him with his arms around me. "Do you want your gift, Sweetness?" Our faces were barely an inch apart and his musky scent was swirling all around me. That was only magnified by the intensity of his gaze as his eyes remained locked on mine. He had me swooning again and I swore to myself that one of these days this man was going to literally dazzle me to death.

"I do," I breathed, still trying to keep from completely turning to mush.

He closed the small space that was still between us and captured my lips for a searing kiss.

"Mmm, Bella, you know one of these days I hope to hear you say those words in an official capacity."

I just stared at him, stunned speechless. We had talked about living together but had never broached the subject of marriage. Not that I didn't want to marry him because I did. It was just that until Edward had come into my life I had never given much thought to having a long term relationship. So for him to be thinking that far ahead about marriage surprised me. It was a good one, but still a surprise.

He lessened his hold on me and allowed me to sit back down in the limo seat. He then held out my gift for me to take. Nervous and excited about what it was, I took the robin's egg blue box from him. After untying the white ribbon I lifted the box lid.

"Edward, it's beautiful," I whispered as I lifted the sterling silver bracelet out of the box.

The bracelet had a sort of chain link design with a heart charm on it. The charm was made to look like a heart shaped lock. It had an intricate filigree design that spelled out Tiffany and a key hole in the middle of it. There was also a tiny old fashioned key attached to it.

"I love it," I declared as I lunged at him and planted a firm kiss on his mouth.

"I'm glad you like it. Would you like me to help you put it on?"

"You must have read my mind. Yes please."

Within a few seconds, Edward has finished adorning my wrist with my new bracelet just in time for us to pull up in front of Canlis, the restaurant he had chosen for us to have dinner.

"Thank you," I told him again as the limo driver pulled the door open for us. He quickly stole a chaste kiss and then helped me out of the car.

Once we were inside, the hostess led us upstairs to The Cache'; a private dining room that Edward had reserved for us. The room was spectacular. It was a quiet little niche that only allowed for a maximum of four to dine in. The table was set for two with the soft glow of a lit candle flickering in the middle. And because we were on the upper level of the restaurant, we had an amazing view overlooking Lake Union and the mountains in the distance. It truly felt as though we were nestled in the tree tops.

Our server came and took our orders after pouring us both a glass of champagne. Edward ordered a steak and I ordered the lobster after we agreed to share since we both had a hard time choosing which to get. Over the course of our meal Edward and I talked about our day and about the upcoming weekend in Forks. I had mixed feelings about Nana going home on Monday. I was sad to see her go, especially since she had been here so long and I had not been able to spend very much time with her, but at the same time I was happy for her to be able to return to her home and know that she would be safe in doing so. Edward completely understood how I felt and said that we would just have to find a time when we could both take off from work and go visit her again. This man continued to amaze me. Always thinking of new ways to make me happy. I found myself falling more and more in love with him everyday even when I thought it wasn't possible.

After we finished our meal, we both ordered dessert. We both picked the Chocolate Covered Chocolate and I became a little suspicious that Edward was up to something when he took a minute to whisper something to our server. When he noticed me watching him with my eyebrow raised in question at him, he simply winked at me and flashed me that damn smile of his. _Oh yeah, he was up to something._

While we waited for our dessert, Edward and I got up and looked out the telescope that was provided in the dining room. It was really amazing being able to see the snow caps on the Cascade Mountain range from where we were.

When the soft melody of "I Only Have Eyes For You" began to flow from the room's sound system, Edward took my hand and gently tugged me away from the telescope.

"Dance with me, Sweetness."

Unable to resist, I slid my hands up his chest until they were linked behind his neck. Dancing in Edward's arms was like floating on a cloud. There was no place in the world I'd rather be than in his arms and we stayed that way, swaying slowly to the music until the server returned with our desserts.

As soon as we sat back down at our table and the server set our plates in front of us, I found out exactly what Edward had been up to. My dessert plate had a candle lit on it along with the words "Happy Birthday Sweetness" written in chocolate.

"Think you're pretty sneaky don't you, Mr. Cullen?" I said with a smirk on my face.

"Mm, I'm not trying to be sneaky, Miss Swan. I just wanted you to have a wonderful evening," he said with a smile as bright as the candle on my plate.

"Well you have definitely succeeded."

"Good. Now make a wish and blow out your candle," he demanded sweetly.

As I formed my wish in my head, I took a deep breath and blew out the candle.

"Well, now your wish is sure to come true," Edward said.

"I hope so," I said, as I stuck the spoon in the chocolate and raised it to my mouth for the first bite. I couldn't help the moan I let out as the chocolate melted in my mouth. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven it was so good. It was essentially a molten chocolate cake served with a scoop of salted caramel ice cream and both were covered in liquid chocolate, with a stick similar to that of a lollipop stuck in the ice cream. The dessert was rich and sweet at first but then changed to a salty flavor before you got to the creamy caramel taste inside. The saltiness of the ice cream was enhanced by the rich flavor of the chocolate cake. It was one of the best desserts I had ever had. Sinfully delicious but not nearly as mouthwatering as Edward.

I took my time savoring every bite and once Edward was done, I saw him watching me with a fire burning in his eyes. His eyes were dark and smoldering and appeared to get darker every time I slid the spoon from my mouth. I even caught him adjusting himself when I licked the spoon after eating the last bite. I knew that look and what those dark eyes meant. I found myself becoming eager to get home and let him have his way with me and tell me how I was his while he made love to me. But then again, after all he had done for me perhaps it was time I showed him just how much he meant to me. Yes spending the rest of the night worshipping Edward Cullen and his magnificent body was definitely better than any dessert on the planet.

_**September 13, 2010**_

Monday had come much too fast. I felt sad that our weekend in Forks was nearly over. It had been really great to spend the weekend with my family. Not only had I enjoyed my time with my family, I had enjoyed a few moments with Edward as well.

On Saturday, Edward and I had gone for a walk and had ended up back at the playground where he had pushed me on the swings last time. Only it was so much better this time. We were free to just have fun and enjoy our time together since we didn't have to constantly be on guard because I was being stalked by a madman. The biggest difference had been the one between Edward and me; this time we had held hands or had our arms around each other as we had walked together. We had stolen kisses between pushes on the swing and had made out like a couple of high school kids under the same tree we'd watched the fireworks from back in July. And even though I had heard my father grumble, Edward and I had shared my old bedroom this time around. I was also teased relentlessly by my brother who had frequently snuck Jane into his room when he was in high school, gave me trouble about finally have a guy in my bedroom. The only thing that made him stop was when Jane threatened to make him sleep on the couch for the next month.

On Sunday we had gone to the annual Welcome Back to School Carnival that Forks High School had every year at this time. I told Edward a story about when I was a little girl and the carnival date had fallen on my birthday and I'd thought the whole thing had been held just for me. Edward had laughed and told me I must have been adorable as a little girl.

My dad had chimed in saying that I had been around four that year and I was so enraptured with the idea that there was a carnival just for my birthday, that him and my mother hadn't had the heart to tell me that day that the it wasn't just for me. He said it had been much easier to wait for me to get a few years older and come to that conclusion all on my own.

We hadn't done much today, all of us just lounging around the house and enjoying what remained of our time together. Now we were all sitting outside in the yard watching my nephew Landon play ball with my dad, my brother and Edward. Landon had remembered playing last time Edward and I were here and he begged Edward to play again. As I watched them play I thought about the walk I had taken with Nana this morning. I had woken up early and Nana was sitting on the porch swing when I had gone out with a cup of coffee. And as only Nana always had been able to do, she could sense that I was struggling with something.

While we had walked, I had told her about what was weighing on my mind, about how Edward wanted me to move in with him and about why as much as I wanted to do that, I felt I had to get back the part of me I had lost due to the torment James Reynolds had brought into my life.

Nana had understood completely and had told me that I was doing the right thing. She had told me this was something that I needed to do and that my and Edward's relationship would be stronger for it. She gone on to say how she felt certain Edward and I had the type of love that both our parents did. One like she had with my grandfather, one that would be everlasting. Nan then lightened the conversation by making me promise to come visit her soon.

I was pulled from my memories when I heard Landon cheer loudly. Apparently all the men had let Landon think he had hit a homerun. He was just too cute for words as he jumped up and down on their makeshift home plate. I watched as he called for Jane to come over and cheer with him and Alec and I saw the look on Edward's face as he watched the three of them together. He was totally enchanted with my nephew and I knew would make an awesome father someday. And judging by the look on his face, he couldn't wait to get to that part of his life. I was overcome with a sense of longing as I watched my brother rest his hand lovingly on Jane's baby bump.

Seeing them interact in that way only strengthened my resolve to do whatever I had to do to move past the bad things I had experienced in the past few months. I wanted Edward and me to have what Alec and Jane had. I thought about the wish I had made the other night at dinner with Edward. I had wished to one day be Mrs. Edward Cullen. And now seeing the intimate and tender moment between my brother and sister-in-law, I wanted to know what it felt like to have Edward's child growing inside me. I wanted to watch him playing and laughing with our child. Having kids was something I had never given much thought to before. I was never against it, but I had always worried that I would never find someone who would be honest with me and accept me for who I was, accept my gift. Worried I'd never find someone to share my life with. But now that I had, I was going to do everything in my power to make sure that once Edward and I took that next step in our relationship we did it on a solid foundation. I wanted forever with him and I had to start it by being able to be a whole person again.

We left Forks a short time later after saying our goodbyes to everyone, and from there we took Nana to the airport.

I couldn't help the tears that flowed as she hugged me and said, "Addio, mia bella nipote. Io ti amo e spero di vedervi presto. Goodbye, my beautiful granddaughter. I love you and hope to see you soon."

"Ti amo troppo, Nana," I said to her while we were still hugging. It was one of the few Italian phrases I remembered her teaching me when I was a child. It meant _I love you too._

Edward and I had stayed at the airport until we were certain her plane had taken off safely. Once we arrived back at my house, I was shocked to find Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose, and Edward's parents waiting there for us.

"What's going on?" I asked as Edward and I sat down in the living room.

"Well, Bella," Emmett began. "We all know how hard the last few months have been on you. All of us admire you and think you are incredibly brave for wanting to live here alone again to help complete your recovery process. Because of that we wanted to find a way to show our support to you."

"Ok," I said a bit hesitantly, not really sure what he was getting at.

"Edward came to all of us and told us about your doctor's suggestion that you make some changes to your room in order to help erase all the painful memories you were still associating with it," Rose added.

Esme was the next one to speak. "So because my son loves you so much and we all love you as well, we have spent this weekend while you were away putting together a very special birthday gift for you from all of us, Edward included."

"Turn your head and close your eyes, Sweetness," Edward whispered in my ear.

I did as he asked and felt him tie some sort of cloth over my eyes, blindfolding me. He led me to the stairs while telling me to let him guide me, but once we reached the steps, he picked me up bridal style and carried me up the stairs. I could hear everyone following behind us.

We must have reached wherever it was in the house he was taking me to because Edward set me down and said, "I am going to remove the blindfold but you have to promise to keep your eyes closed until I say."

"Ok."

"No peeking," he teased.

"I promise."

"Are you ready?" he asked through his chuckles.

I smiled and nodded.

"Ok, when I say three you can open your eyes. One…two…three."

I opened my eyes and gasped in shock as I looked around, unable to believe what I was seeing. They had completely redone my bedroom. The only trace of my old room I could find was the hardwood floors that remained.

"Oh my God," I exclaimed. "This…this is just…gorgeous. You guys, did you do this?"

"We did," Esme said as she took my hand in hers and pulled me into a tight hug. "Edward told us about what you wanted, what you _needed_ to do, and about your doctor's suggestions. So he wanted to give you a completely fresh start here and make things as easy as possible for you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself."

"So we all chipped in and spent the weekend here making that happen for you. We all love you and wanted to make this time of transition as easy for you as we could," Rose said as she took her turn hugging me.

"Wow. I'm just blown away you guys," I choked out as the tears started trickling down my cheeks. "I don't know what to say."

"How about telling us if you like it?" Alice piped in, causing us all to laugh.

"I do. It's so me and so much more than what I could have ever imagined for myself. I love it."

I wiped the tears from my eyes and began looking at all the details of my new room. Gone were the drab white walls. They were now a soft shade of lavender. It was soft, relaxing, soothing and cozy. It was also modern and classy. My mismatched bedroom furniture had been replaced with an antique white set. My new bed had a high curved headboard. It and the footboard both had a paneled design with all new bedding and two soft fuzzy purple pillows to bring out the purple details of the mostly white bedding. It was perfect.

There was a large area rug on the floor between the bed and a large purple chaise that had a reading lamp behind it and table next to it. On the table were several of my favorite books, including the Bronte from Edward's loft.

I looked up and saw a beautiful crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling in place of the wobbly ceiling fan that had been there before. There were so many wonderful things in the room such as the huge full-length mirror standing next to the bathroom in the far left corner of the room.

When I turned around to take it all in, I found my favorite spot in the room. Just above the new sleek white dresser was a wall collage full of several of the family portraits I had told Edward I had but didn't know how to display.

"You remembered," I said, looking over at him.

"I did," he said as he came up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist.

There was one picture, though, I had never seen before. It was the largest one on the wall and was a photo of Edward and me.

"Where did this picture come from?" I asked Edward, pointing at the portrait.

Before he could answer, his mother did it for him. "I took it the day your parents left to go back to Forks."

"Really? When?" I asked Esme.

"It was just after your parents had left and just before you and Edward went to lunch with his father and me. It just looked like such a tender moment between the two of you and the love the two of you share was so apparent, I thought it would be something you'd treasure. I hope you like it."

"It's beautiful. Thank you, Esme," I said through the tears that were flowing once again.

"You are so welcome, my dear."

"Ok, so we have one more gift for you," Jasper said as I stood sandwiched between Edward and his mom in a hug.

Unable to fathom what more they could possibly have for me, I turned in Edward's arms to face Jasper. There in his arms was the cutest puppy I had ever seen. He was holding what I was pretty sure was a chocolate lab puppy with a huge purple bow around its neck. It was wiggling and squirming to get down.

"My mom's dog had puppies a few weeks ago. Alice and me have taken one of the last two puppies and we thought you might like having this little lady here to keep you company when you're here by yourself," Jasper explained.

"She's so cute. What's her name?" I asked as he handed me the little fur ball. I giggled when she stuck out her little tongue and licked my chin.

"That's all up to you, darlin. She's yours and yours to name if you want her," Jasper said.

"How could I resist such a sweet little thing like you?" I asked rubbing my cheek against the soft downy fur of the puppy. "You said you guys have her littermate?" I asked Jasper and Alice.

"Yes. We can have puppy play dates," Alice said with a smile.

"What'd you name it?" I asked.

"Alice insisted on naming him Moose," Jasper said with a slight eye roll.

"Oh, I get it," Emmett snickered. "Chocolate lab, Chocolate Moose."

"And he's defending our country. God help us all," Rose retorted, lovingly making fun of her husband.

"Hmm," I said looking down at my puppy. "What do you think of the name Coco?" I asked her, looking into her big puppy eyes.

"I think she likes it," Edward said, reaching over to pet her as she licked my chin again.

"I am so overwhelmed," I told them all. "I don't know what to say other than thank you so very, very much."

"You don't need to say anything else, dear," Esme said. "Now we know you are both probably tired so we will get out of here and let the two of you enjoy what's left of your birthday."

Edward and I walked them all down to the door. Edward helped Jasper bring in all the puppy supplies they had brought along for Coco and then we said goodbye to everyone.

We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and playing with our new puppy. I thought about how very fortunate I was to have so many wonderful and amazing people in my life who were so willing to support me and help me get through the tough days ahead. In fact I knew they would be there for both Edward and I for however long we needed them to. I had always had an amazing and wonderful support system in my own family. But now I felt as though my family size had doubled and with all of their love and support, I knew that I could face my fears of living in this house alone again.

_**September 19, 2010**_

Just like the past couple of weeks had been, this past week had been busy. At first trying to get Coco used to the idea of being house broken was a bit of a challenge, but she finally seemed to be catching on.

I found that the complete change of my bedroom had been very beneficial in helping me feel comfortable in the room. Edward and I had slept in my room all week and on Friday night I had dropped the bomb on him, telling him that I felt like I was ready to give sleeping there alone a try.

That brought us to where we were currently standing—at my front door trying to find the words to say goodbye to each other. His arms were wound tightly around me as I buried my face in the crook of his neck. I closed my eyes as I breathed in his scent and savored the feel of his touch. I wanted him to stay so bad it hurt. But I needed to do this for me, for him and for us.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and pushed back the tears that were threatening to break free from the dam I was fighting to hold them behind. I knew if I cracked and just one tear fell down my face, there would be no way I'd get him to leave. No way I'd _want_ him too.

"Sweetness, just say the word and I'll stay," Edward murmured as his face nuzzled into my hair.

"Sweetness," Edward said softly as he cupped my face gently in his hands and gazed into my eyes. "It's time for me to go. You're ready for this. The sooner we move past this step in our lives the sooner we move on to much bigger and better things."

"I know…it's hard though," I whispered.

"I know it is," he whispered back as the pads of his thumbs caressed my cheeks. "Just remember I'm only a phone call away, and you have a key to the loft as well. We've already weathered the worst of the storm by getting you your life back. Now all you have to do is live it to the fullest. You can do this, Bella. I know you can."

"You're right," I told him, because in all truthfulness he was. Making sure Black and Reynolds were where they belonged was the worst of it and we had made it through that and were even stronger now for having done so.

"I love you. This temporary change in our living arrangements won't change that."

"I love you too," I said as I sniffled. The tears were becoming harder and harder to fight back and I think Edward knew this because he leaned forward and kissed me. It was soft, slow and said just how much he loved me as our tongues glided languidly with one another.

When we finally had to break apart for air, he placed a lingering kiss to my forehead. "I'm gonna go now. We will get through this. Remember, I'm only a phone call away and you know you can call me anytime, no matter what time it is if you need me and I'll be here."

"I know."

With one more kiss and one more round of I love you's he reluctantly released his arms from around me and promised to call as soon as he made it home. I went inside and closed the front door, but watched him through the window as he stared at the house for a minute before his shoulders slouched in resignation before he climbed into his car.

The tears began the second I heard the engine of the car roar to life. I stayed at the window until I could no longer make out the glow of his taillights going down the street. After making sure the door was locked and my alarm was set, I headed upstairs to my room. I pulled on the t-shirt of Edward's that he'd worn all day and I'd made him take off just before we had walked to the door. It was still full of his scent. I then reached down and picked up Coco from where she was curled in a ball sleeping in her bed on the floor next to mine. She whimpered softly as I crawled into my bed with her.

"It's just you and me girl," I whispered to her as I stroked her soft fur.

While I snuggled with Coco, I inhaled the lingering scent of Edward that remained on his shirt and willed it to soothe me and ease the steady flow of tears that were still streaming down my face. It was no use as it wasn't an adequate substitute for his arms wrapped around me. As the minutes drug by, I did manage to let out a half hearted laugh when Coco began to lick the tears from my cheeks.

After what seemed like a much longer time than the twenty or so minutes it took Edward to get to his loft, my cellphone rang. I grabbed it and answered it right away, knowing that at this time of the night it was Edward.

"I just wanted to tell you goodnight."

"You're home now?"

"No, Sweetness. Home for me is wherever you are. But I'm here at the loft. But as I've said before, I have faith in you to do this and I have faith in us to get through it. Now why don't you get Coco and snuggle up with her and close those gorgeous brown eyes of yours and get some sleep."

"I did. She's already here with me."

"Good. Call me when you get up in the morning. I love you, Bella."

"I love you too," I told him as I struggled to hide the fact I was crying from my voice.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight," I whispered back to him and ended the call.

The pain of having to do this hit me full force and the stream of tears falling now fell like a flooding river. The last thing I remembered thinking as I cried myself to sleep was what Edward had said about home being wherever I was. He was right. We were each other's home and I prayed that I was able to get through this phase of my recovery so we could move forward and leave all the rest behind us.

**Can't wait to see what you think. Next chapter we are going to jump time just a little bit and I have a surprise coming. It's something all of you wanted to happen several chapters ago. Think you know what it is? Let me know.**

**See ya next time, thanks for reading. **

**EA**


	28. Marching On

**Good morning everyone! I hope you are doing well this morning after St. Partick's Day. Thank you to My-Bella and Hope4more who give their time so freely in making sure all my I's are dotted, my T's are crossed and all those darn pesky commas are in the right places. I couldn't do this without them and let me tell you I have major issues with commas. **

**I know you are anxious to get to the chapter, but I wanted to take a minute to talk to all of you about the disaster in Japan, which has also affected Hawaii and the west coast. Our fandom as well as many others have come together to help raise money to help all of the people affected in his horrible natural disaster in the _Fandom Fights Tusnami _relief project. Myself, My-Bella**, **and several other authors are contributing one shots, poems and others writing endeavors to this cause. By donating a minimum of $10 you will have access to a compilation of stories and poems by several amazing authors. These stories are going to be from all different kinds of fandoms; not just twilight. While there is a huge array of Twilight fan fiction authors who have signed up, if you are also into fanfiction for Harry Potter, Hunger Games or even some original fiction, you will get it all.  
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http:/fandomfightstsunami(.)blogspot(.)com

**Stepheine Meyer owns it all. I just make Edward and Bella do crazy things sometimes. **

_We'll have the days we break,  
And we'll have the scars to prove it,  
We'll have the bonds that we save,  
But we'll have the heart not to lose it._

_For all of the times we've stopped,  
For all of the things I'm not._

_We put one foot in front of the other,  
We move like we ain't got no other,  
We go when we go,  
We're marching on_

_There's so many wars we fought,  
There's so many things we're not,  
But with what we have,  
I promise you that,  
We're marching on_

_**Marching On by Onerepublic**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**October 23, 2010**_

The much cooler days of October had brought with it some changes. During the second week of the month, the sentencing for both Jacob Black and Laurent Rousseau had been handed down by the courts.

It had been determined through Black's testimony and the many emails, texts, and phone calls between Black and Rousseau, that the lawyer for Reynolds had been fully aware of his client's intent to break out of prison and to flee the country with me. Once the content of all the different types of correspondence were known, Rousseau was confronted. However instead of confessing as we had hoped he would, he continued to argue in his defense. Having hired a top notch lawyer to represent him and being one himself, he knew the ins and outs of the law and used it to his advantage in every way he could.

Rousseau and his attorney argued over everything, including how the emails and other correspondence had been obtained. They even claimed the documents had all been misconstrued by the Federal Government in order to cover the huge screw-up by one of their own agents. In the end they offered him the best deal he could get which was to be disbarred for life and a reduced sentence of ten years instead of forty. I wasn't thrilled that someone as shady as Laurent Rousseau would be walking the streets again in ten years, but it was out of my hands so I had no choice but to accept it.

Jacob Black's plea to cut a deal wasn't so simple. Yes he had confessed and had provided the authorities with a great deal of information, but he still had to go before a judge and have the judge make the final decision as to whether or not the deal he was being offered would be accepted.

The day of his sentencing hearing had been a very emotional one for me. I wasn't required to attend it, but it was something I had felt like I needed to do in order to have closure. With my parents, Edward, Rose, Alice, Jasper and Esme all by my side, I sat in the court room and listened to Black's attorneys go over all the different ways he had fully cooperated since his arrest. Emmett and Seth along with Erikson were there as well, but they were acting in an official capacity and sat at one of the legal tables directly in front of the judge.

Deciding to be there had been the easy part. What had been excruciatingly difficult was to listen to the families of the transport van guards give their impact statements and recount their losses and the sorrow they'd had to endure since Black had shot and murdered their loved ones. The hardest testimony to listen to was when one of the guards' wives got on the witness stand and spoke of how her son who was just four months old would now have to grow up never knowing his father, how Black had stolen that from her innocent son.

Once the families had finished having their say, it was my turn to give a statement. I had gone back and forth, changing my mind several times, before I finally stayed with the choice to do this myself. I could have let Emmett or Seth read a prepared statement by me, but I had felt like it was something I needed to do. I also knew that coming from me and not a piece of paper, my statement would have more impact on the proceedings.

It was an incredibly painful thing to do. But after all I'd had to say about what Reynolds and Black had done and how it had affected me was out, I felt a sense of relief and somewhat cleansed. I knew that I had done everything I possibly could to make sure Jacob Black was at the very least behind bars for the rest of his life. After my statement, the judge took a short recess to ponder over what he'd heard and to look over the deal that was being offered to Black.

As we waited, I looked around the courtroom and tried to control my own emotions while I was drowning in those of all who were around me. The pain…the anger… the sorrow…and the devastation…so many levels of emotion hitting me all at once. It was almost suffocating.

Not only were the families of the victims here, but Black's family was here as well. I couldn't begin to fathom how difficult it must be for them to know of the heinous crimes Black had committed and still be hoping and praying the judge would accept the plea bargain deal and spare Black's life.

I'd just about tolerated all I could of the overwhelming amount of emotion in the room and was in the process of asking Edward to go with me out into the hall to wait when the bailiff announced that the judge had reached his decision and was on his way back to the courtroom.

We all stood upon Judge Miller's appearance, as the court clerk banged the gavel on her desk indicating court was once again in session. Once we sat back down, the judge began to speak about all he had taken into account when coming to his decision. While we listened, Edward let go of my hand and pulled me close to him with his arm around me for support. What happened next was something that didn't occur often.

"Mr. Black, stand," Judge Miller began. "It saddens me immeasurably to find someone who had been trained to uphold and the laws of our country before me today, facing sentencing for betraying those very same laws and committing such atrocities as you have. Not only have you broken several serious laws, but you have also knowingly betrayed the very oath you took when you were sworn in as a Federal Agent." The judge paused briefly and took a drink from the cup sitting in front of him. I was sure I had seen his head shake slightly as if he were disgusted by the man standing in front of him. I could hardly blame him as I felt the same way about Black.

When Judge Miller began to speak again, he stared directly in Black's direction, his gaze never once faltering. "I do not take the decision I have come to today lightly. After very carefully considering the options for sentencing as mandated by the laws in the state of Washington, all the information presented to me, and weighing them with the cooperation you have given in apprehending others involved in Mr. Reynolds' illegal activities, I have reached what I feel is the right choice in this case."

A tense silence came over the room. There had been a few hushed whispers taking place between a few family members, but the room had suddenly become deathly quiet. In that moment I surmised you could have truly heard a pin drop.

"Jacob Black, I hereby sentence you to death by lethal injection to be carried out as soon as all the cases you are cooperating in have been settled."

Cries of relief and anguish cut through the courtroom. I found myself grasping tightly onto Edward's suit jacket as I buried my face against it and let out my own tears of relief.

The judge's voice echoed through the room again as he spoke into the microphone and caused the people in attendance to calm down and pay attention to him. "Mr. Black, if you were a civilian who had committed these crimes I may have been more inclined to give the idea of sentencing you to life in prison more consideration. You have destroyed many lives with your greed and selfishness and because of your uncaring ability to take into account how your actions would affect your own family as well as those of the men you killed in cold blood, I don't believe you deserve that luxury. And let me assure you, for the crimes you have committed, being given the sentence of life in prison would have been a luxury for you. Because of you lives have been profoundly disrupted, parents have lost a child, including your own father, and wives have lost their husbands and children their father. I am certain I have made the correct ruling."

I watched as Jacob hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut as if he were finally realizing the magnitude of what he had done. I was sure he had never imagined that he'd get caught, but he had been and now any remorse he might feel was too little too late. He made his choices and now he had to suffer with the consequences.

Judge Miller continued to speak and Jacob raised his head to listen. I couldn't help but think that if Jacob had, had half as much respect for the law as he was showing the judge right now he might not be in the position he was in. "Mr. Black, you were a Federal Agent who vowed to uphold the laws of this country and you have blatantly, knowingly, and without remorse, broken every aspect of the oath you took. You have betrayed your fellow agents and your country. Both are unforgiveable in my opinion."

While I was sad for Black's family and I would have accepted him being sent away for the rest of his life, I was relieved that Judge Miller had seen fit to give Jacob the punishment I felt he deserved. And it had more to do with the innocent lives he had taken in cold blood than it had to do with what he had done to me. I was marching on, finding my way past what had happened. But the families of Black's victims would never get that opportunity. Sure they would learn to cope and deal with what had happened, but their lives were forever changed in ways so much greater than mine had been. Especially since they hadn't gained a loved one out of this mess as I had Edward. They had forever lost one.

As big of a change as having those cases closed and behind me was, it wasn't the biggest one happening in my life. Those first several days living alone in my house had been some of the hardest days of my life. Actually it had been the nights that I had struggled with the most. No matter how much I had thought I had been ready, it had been much harder than I had anticipated. I'd had nightmares and even a few panic attacks before I was finally able to adjust and settle into a new routine.

It wasn't just being back in my house, it was learning to sleep alone again. I literally cried myself to sleep the first few nights and on more than one occasion I had found myself calling Edward in the middle of the night or driving to his loft at three am. But true to his word, he was there for me, giving me the unconditional love and support I needed just as he had promised to do. Even though I had never doubted that he would, knowing something in your head and experiencing it firsthand were two completely different things. After the first time I'd had a panic attack in the middle of the night, Dr. Bartholomew had said that she expected it would happen and that quite honestly she would have been more concerned if it hadn't. She then told me to continue to take it one day at a time and if I had an incident one night to shake it off and start fresh the next day. So that's what I had done and things were now better than they had been in a very long time. I was finally learning to trust that I had made the right choice and that I could be that happy, carefree, independent woman I had been before. Even if it did take a major breakdown for me to get to that point.

That major breakdown had come a few days after the sentencing hearing when Edward and Jasper had to unexpectedly go out of town for work. A client of theirs had bought a vacation beach home down in southern California and was going to be there for a few days and wanted Edward and Jasper to come check the home out so they could install an alarm system on it.

There was no way for Edward to get around going. And as much as we both wished that I had been in a better place with my recovery when something like this occurred, we both knew that sooner or later it was bound to happen. He had asked me to go with him, but with me being smack dab in the middle of my current case with it about to bust wide open, there was no way I could.

So I had put on a happy face as best I could and sent him off to Los Angeles for three days. We both tried to reassure ourselves with the fact that I had a great support system around me. Em and Rose as well as Edward's parents and Alice were all within fifteen minutes to half an hour away from me if I needed them. The first night he was gone, I had woken up from one of the worst dreams I'd had. My dream had taken me back to the kitchen in that house down in Seaside Oregon, only things had not gone as they had in real life. In my dream things had gone horribly wrong. Instead of me shooting Reynolds and ending his pathetic life, I had woken up screaming just as Reynolds had fired his gun to shoot Edward right in front of me. It was terrifying. I had screamed so loud I had scared Coco and sent her whimpering under my bed. I had panicked and freaked out and had barely been able to call Emmett and Rose. They had found me shaking and crying almost hysterically when they had arrived at my house. However when the dream reoccurred the second night, I was able to work through it on my own and use my breathing techniques to get me through it.

That had been a major turning point for me. That fact that I could get myself through a panic attack of that magnitude gave me the reassurance I needed to know that I could get through anything. Over the course of that week, I had continued to have the dream but each night the dream would change just a little. I would get closer and closer to shooting Reynolds and having the dream end in the way things had gone in real life. And when the dream finally had the same outcome, Dr. Bartholomew had told me I had endured the worst of my recovery and the rest would be much easier compared to what I had already been through. She had said that my subconscious mind had finally caught up with the rest of me and had accepted the fact that James Reynolds was gone and could never hurt me or anyone else ever again. From then on my confidence was returning and I was truly beginning to live again. I was finally beginning to feel like the woman I had been before. I was beginning to feel _normal._

There had also been another advantage to Edward being gone for three days. We missed each other like crazy. While you would think it was a bad thing, it wasn't. Missing him made me look further at our relationship and my feelings for him. I knew before that I loved him with all my heart, but somehow being away from him for those few days, I found myself falling even more in love with him. It made me look at how good we were for each other. How we complemented each other, our similar likes and dislikes and what we wanted for our futures. And it wasn't like I hadn't always known those things because I had, but we fell in love so fast and furiously and then were thrown into the mess surrounding my life at the time and we had never really had time to just be. Missing him made me appreciate what we had together so much more. It made the time we were together all that much more special. When he kissed me or held me in his arms, I felt it from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes. I craved him and felt as if I could never get enough of him. He made me feel so loved, so happy and feel so alive. And I couldn't even begin to explain what missing each other did for our love making when he came home. It had always been amazing, but the connection between us was stronger now. Absence truly did make the heart grow fonder.

_**October 31, 2010**_

"Alice, if you pull those strings any tighter I'm going to suffocate. I can hardly breathe as it is," I complained as Alice proceeded to pull the laces of the corset that went with my Halloween costume impossibly tighter. I kept having the scene from the movie _Titanic_ playing in my mind where the character Rose argued with her mother as her mother performed the same task. Thank goodness I only had to wear this contraption for one night and not every day as the women back in those days had to.

"Oh come on, Bella, I didn't tie them that tight. Besides my brother will appreciate what the corset does for you cleavage," Alice chimed as she tried to keep a straight face and not laugh at me.

"What cleavage?" I asked with a snicker. "You've tied it so tight it's a miracle you can tell I have boobs at all. They're squished flat."

"Oh shush and wait until you see yourself in the mirror. You might want to wear one of these contraptions, as you call it, more often," Alice said as she smiled sarcastically at me.

"Whatever," I snapped and rolled my eyes at her, but then smiled so she knew I was playing around.

Alice and I had grown closer over the last few weeks as had her and Rose. We had, had a few girls' days out and Edward and I had gone out with her and Jasper a few times. There were also a couple of times when Emmett and Rose had joined the four of us for a night out or a night of staying in and watching a movie or whatever sporting event the guys would beg us girls to let them watch. The three of them pouting and begging all at the same time was really adorable and hard to resist.

Both Alice and Rose had helped me get through the three days Edward had been gone by trying to keep me busy. On the last night he was gone I had been having a hard time and they had both come over and we had stayed up half the night with me, watching chick flicks and eating ice cream.

"There all done," Alice said as she finished fixing my hair. She had ironed it straight with a flat iron and then brushed the front and sides back, holding it in place with a gold-toned, pearl embellished headband. She claimed it was very fitting for the era of my costume and after she had it secured in place I had to agree it looked good.

Edward and I were at his parents' house getting ready for the annual Halloween Masquerade Ball that Seattle Grace Memorial Hospital held. I had heard of the event before but had never gone. Edward went each year to support his father, who was a very well renowned and respected member of the staff at the hospital. So this year I would be going too.

"Thanks for your help," I said to Alice. She left me to finish getting ready in Edward's old room and headed down the hall to her old bedroom so she could do the same. We were all spending the night here since it was likely to be a late night and they lived close to the hotel where the party was taking place.

Esme had informed me that each year there was a different theme and this year's was the Renaissance era. She said that everyone would be dressed as kings, queens, dukes, ladies-in-waiting and all the other titles and positions that were well known from that time in history.

When she saw me start to freak out over not having any idea of what I should dress up as she told me not to worry, that she had the perfect plan for my and Edward's costumes, and a few days ago she arrived at my house with a seamstress to make sure the costume she had chosen fit me perfectly.

Edward and I were going as King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Esme and Alice had both laughed at my reaction when she told me who Edward and I were going as. As soon as I'd heard, I rubbed my hand along my neck thinking about how King Henry had, had his second wife beheaded, but eventually ended up laughing along with them.

Despite not being a big fan of the whole dressing up thing, I was in love with the dress to my costume. It was beautiful and looked fitting for an actual queen. It was made of gold and ivory embroidered satin tapestry fabric with a V-shaped neckline in the front and a high ruffled collar in the back. The gown was tight in the bodice and flared out at the waist to create a full skirt. Even though I had given Alice trouble about tying the corset I had on under the gown so tight, once I had the dress on and looked in the mirror I had to admit that it did accent my figure in all the right places. _Must be how women back in those days kept their hourglass figures_.

To complete my look, I also had on a pair of small pearl earrings and a replica of the famous "B" necklace that Anne Boleyn was known for wearing most of her adult life.

I had just finished slipping on the gold-toned ballet flats that matched my dress when there was a knock at the door. I moved across the room as fast as the full heavy skirt of my dress would let me. Opening the door I was greeted with the gorgeous site of my boyfriend. Edward looked amazing in his costume. He would have been very dashing and sought after by all the ladies had he lived back in the time of royal courts and kings and queens._ Heck who was I kidding; he was constantly turning heads now._

Edward was wearing a velvet jacket that hung to about mid-thigh on his long lean legs. The back, sides, and sleeves were black with a front that was a rich burgundy velvet embossed with an intricate gold embroidered leaf motif. The front was also adorned with six antiqued metal buttons. The rest of Edward's costume consisted of a snug fitting pair of burgundy men's breeches that were tucked inside a pair of knee high black boots. As my eyes raked over his form, I couldn't help but notice how his pants were snug in all the right places. _Mine_, was the first thing that popped into my head.

**~*EPOV*~**

"Good evening, my lady," I said to Bella when she opened the door to my room. She was beyond beautiful in her costume.

"Why good evening to you too, my king," Bella replied, with a giggle and a beaming smile on her face.

"You look gorgeous, Sweetness," I told her as I bowed in front of her while taking her small hand in mine and placing a kiss on it.

When I stood back up, I pulled her to me and gave her a soft lingering kiss. She looked up at me and whispered, "You look pretty damn good yourself."

I kissed her again and as I was pulling away, I couldn't help noticing what her costume was doing to her breasts. I'd always thought they were perfect in every way. Not too large and not too small. Perfect. But they were pushed up so high causing her to have cleavage like she'd never before had and I was close to telling her she had to put something on over the dress. God help me if she bent over at all tonight, because if she did, she was going to give me and every man looking in her direction a free view. _Mine._

"You know these are supposed to be for my eyes only," I murmured to her as I skimmed my finger along the edge of her dress and across the swell of her breasts.

"Yes well, you can thank your mother and your sister for my extra perky cleavage tonight."

"I like it," I admitted to her with what I was sure was a cocky grin on my face.

"You do huh?"

"Yeah, I just don't want to share the view with anyone else."

"What if I promise to be extra careful so I don't give half the men of Seattle a peep show tonight?"

"Mmmm, then maybe I'll let you keep this beautiful head of yours," I told her as I cupped the back of her neck and knotted my fingers in her hair.

"Well then," she said as she rose up on her toes and kissed me sweetly, "you let me keep my head and maybe I'll bear you a son someday."

"Hmm, what if I want a beautiful princess that looks just like her mother?"

"I guess then a princess it is—that is, if you let me keep my head."

This was the closest Bella and I had ever come to talking about having kids together. I knew she was just teasing for right now, but the fact that she had been the one to initiate the teasing and didn't hesitate at all told me that she was close to being ready to take that next step in our relationship. And it wasn't about the fun moment we'd just shared, it was about how much closer we'd become in the last few weeks. She was regaining her confidence in herself by leaps and bounds and I was seeing that brave, strong, confident woman I'd met on the beach re-emerge more and more. And in the process our relationship was growing and evolving every day into something so special that I had no doubt that I'd be spending the rest of my life with her.

"You ready to go?" I asked after being unable to resist kissing her again.

"Lead the way, Sir." She tucked her arm around mine as we made our way downstairs where everyone was waiting to leave.

With the house so close to the party's location, we arrived quickly and began to mingle with all the guests in attendance. The night went by quickly as we all had been having fun while raising money for a worthy cause. It was amazing to see Bella out in a large social setting and letting loose, not having to worry about who or what might be lurking around every corner. We ate, we danced, I introduced her to family friends and acquaintances and while I knew she had enjoyed herself at Alice's wedding, I could see how much more relaxed she was this evening and in turn how much more fun she was having. The huge smile on her face and the laughter she didn't hold in were just a couple of the ways I saw it. One of the biggest tells was that she didn't feel the need to stay right by my side. She would go off with my mother or my sister and even by herself if she wanted a drink or to sneak another piece of chocolate off the dessert table. She was living her life again, not just surviving it or going through the motions and I was so thrilled to be sharing it with her.

We had been engaged in a conversation with my parents and a few of my father's colleagues when Bella excused herself to go to the ladies room and whispered to me that she'd be right back. After she had been gone longer than I'd expected, I began searching for her with my eyes. Even though I knew she was no longer in danger, I had become so used to watching her constantly that when she didn't come back right away like she'd said she would, I found myself glancing around the room trying to locate her. When I spotted her I didn't like what I saw at all.

"Excuse me," I said to my parents and the others before turning to head towards Bella. It appeared as though my sister was trying to calm her down from having a heated conversation with two people I had never seen before. The woman had pale, straight as a nail, long blond hair and was a few inches taller than Bella. The man had short, somewhat messy, sandy blond hair. There was something about these two that rang a bell in my mind, like I should recognize them, but I couldn't connect why.

"Sweetness, what's going on here?" I asked as soon as I reached them.

The woman snorted at my use of Bella's nickname causing me to shoot a cold glare in her direction. Her facial expression changed immediately. I didn't know why Bella was so upset, but this woman certainly wasn't going to intimidate me.

"Bella, I asked you what's going on. Is something wrong?" I could see a mix of emotions on her face and fire in her eyes as she stared down the couple. She was pissed. _And damn was she beautiful._ I had seen Bella pissed before; her cheeks took on a pink tint and it made her eyes sparkle with a fiery intensity that caused them to practically glow.

"Everything's fine. I was just saying goodbye. Let's go." She smiled at me as she spoke the words, but I could see right through her act. Acting was definitely not one of her stronger personality traits. She wasn't scared, worried, or anything like that, but I knew there was more to it than she was letting on. So I nodded and walked away with her and Alice until we were out of ear shot of the couple Bella had been talking to.

Once we were far enough away I stopped her and turned her around so she was facing me. "Ok, cut out the act and tell me what's really going on. Who were those people?" She let out a long sigh which instantly told me that I wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"It was Garrett," she stated in an exasperated huff.

"Who?"

"It was Garrett and Kate. I went to college with them."

_Garrett…Garrett…Garret…_the name flitted through my mind until the memory of where I'd heard it slammed in to me like a seven-forty-seven careening out of control down the runway.

"Garrett, your ex? Garrett from Udub? The bastard that—"

"Yep. That's him."

"What did he do? What did he say to you that upset you so much, Bella?" I asked as I pulled her into my arms and held her. She was still trembling slightly from whatever had gone on here tonight.

"It's not a big deal. He made some crass comments and I went off on him. I handled it. I told him what I thought of him like I should have years ago and that's it." When I looked in her eyes and saw the truth in her expression, and the determination in her eyes I knew she was being completely honest with me. Her reactions were about the anger she was feeling, not because she was worried or upset.

"Why didn't you just tell me that back there?" I asked, pointing to where we'd just been.

"Because you would have gotten all upset and protective of me like you are now and while I love that you do, I didn't want to cause a scene. Your parents are here and all of your father's colleagues. I didn't want you or them embarrassed by anything that ass might say or do. So I told him off and was just about to walk away when you found us."

"And you're sure you're ok?" I asked, swiping a strand of hair that had fallen out from her headband back behind her ear.

"Yes," she said, leaning into my hand that was now cupping her cheek. "I made sure he knew I wasn't the shy, scared nineteen year old I was when he duped me all those years ago. And I made sure he knew what a piece of shit I thought he was. Like I said, I stood up to him like I should have back then."

"Ok, if you are sure. Do you want to leave?"

"No, not yet. It's not that late is it?"

"No, just past ten."

"Ok, then how about you dance with me?"

"Why, I'd love to, Sweetness."

I loved dancing with Bella. But right this minute I was having a hard time not turning around and finding that prick, Garrett, and ripping his head off. It was completely uncalled for, for him to approach Bella and say anything about their past to Bella here tonight. The fucker was lucky he didn't touch her, because if he had there was no way I would have been able to hold myself back from hitting him.

We danced through the next couple of songs. Holding Bella in my arms and smelling her intoxicating scent as her body brushed against mine, was causing my desire for her to rise. She fit against me perfectly as we moved in harmony to the music and the longer I held her against my body, the more my hands wanted to roam and touch her in ways that were completely inappropriate for where we were. She had one hand toying with the hair at the nape of my neck which only added to the level of desire I was feeling. However when her hand slid under my long jacket around to grope my ass, I knew I wasn't the only one being affected.

"How about we sneak back to my parents' house while the rest of the family is still here and you can fulfill a teenage fantasy of mine while showing me what's under that dress?" I whispered against her ear before grazing it teasingly with my teeth.

"Childhood fantasy?" she inquired with a sly smile.

"Mmm hmm. I told you once before you're the only one of my girlfriends that has ever slept in my childhood bed. How about you become the only one I've ever made love to in it also?"

I flashed her the smile I knew she loved; she whimpered softly and then let out a breathy, "Ok."

I took her by the hand and we made a hasty retreat to the front exit. While we were waiting for the valet to bring the car around, Bella realized she had left her purse in the banquet room. Before leaving to get it, she promised she'd make up some excuse for needing her purse if she ran into my parents or my sister.

They had several valets working due to the party and because of this several cars were being brought around at a time for those leaving. So when my car was brought around and I saw I was going to have to walk a few cars down to get it, I gave the valet an extra tip and told him to show Bella where the car was when she came out. He agreed and I thanked him.

I had just reached the car and was about to pull the door open when I heard a woman who sounded drunk laughing and giggling behind me.

"I can't believe little Bella Swan landed herself such a fine slab of man meat."

I turned at the sound of Bella's name to see the couple Bella had been talking to earlier.

"Oh look, Garrett, there he is," the woman slurred in her drunken stupor while she pointed at me.

She pulled away from Garrett and made her way over to me. As she stopped in front of me she wobbled slightly which told me she was indeed drunk. Garrett followed her over.

"You know handsome, I sure hope Bella has learned a thing or two over the years cause according to my Garrett, she wasn't very good in the sack."

I was pissed hearing this bitch talk about my Sweetness this way. "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I suggest you turn yourself around and go back to where you came from. You don't know anything about Bella."

Blondie decided to do as I'd said but Garrett on the other hand thought he should have his say. He grabbed her arm rather roughly as she stumbled into him and pulled her to his side before deciding to antagonize me further. "I know enough about her to know it's a damn good thing I got paid for that shit I did to her in college. Virgin or not she was the worst fucking lay I ever had."

I wasn't drunk by any means, but I'd had a few beers and as a result my patience wasn't what it would have normally been. And there was no way I was going to stand there and listen to this prick talk about Bella, not when I knew what he'd done to her.

Hoping to defuse the situation before it got out of hand, I told them, "I'm not going to tell you again to get the fuck out of here."

"Oh, Pretty Boy, is getting all tough and protective of little—"

"Don't even say her name," I sneered at him as my temper flared. "She is so much better than you and so much better than you will ever deserve. Now go while you still can."

He acted as if he was going to leave, just as Bella came walking up to the car. "Oh look, there's little Miss Virgin Perfect now. Hey, Bella, you wanna repeat performance? Maybe Pretty Boy here has taught you a thing or two and you're a better fuck now."

With one hand, I reached out and grabbed his arm, and swinging him around to face me. With the other hand, I smashed my fist in his face. After the third blow landed on his face, I heard the crunch of the bone in his nose and knew that I had broken it. But it didn't stop me from punching him in the gut too. Fucker had said too much and pushed me too far. When he doubled over I let go of him and he fell on his ass in the street. I heard Bella gasp and after checking to make sure she was ok, I followed the direction of her eyes and saw Garret sitting on the ground with blood pouring out of his nose.

"I better not ever hear you mutter a word about her again, or I'll break more than your nose. Next time you'll be holding your balls in your hand," I said to him.

I waited briefly to see if he was going to be stupid enough to get up and come at me for more. If he did, I'd be happy to hand him his balls on a silver platter. What he'd done to Bella in college was unforgivable and I had no problems beating it into his dumbass.

When he stayed put on the ground all I wanted to do was get Bella home before our night was completely ruined.

Someone must have seen what was going on, because the valet was walking towards us. "Hey what's going on here?" he called as he got closer to us.

"Nothing, this jackass was harassing my girl," I explained.

"She ok?" the valet asked as he noticed Bella holding on to my arm.

"Yeah, we were just trying to leave and he wouldn't leave us alone," I told him as I flexed my fingers because my knuckles had started to throb.

"Alright then. You two go on and I'll take care of him," the valet said.

I put my hand on the small of Bella's back and led her around to the passenger side of the car. Once we were both inside and on our way, Bella asked, "What the hell did he say to you to provoke to hit him like that?"

"Later, ok? Then you can tell me what he said to you earlier. Please?"

"Ok," she said bringing my hand to her lips and kissing my knuckles. I winced slightly as her lips came in contact with them. They were going to be swollen and sore. But it was so worth it to have hit that fucker. It was something I had wanted to do ever since Bella told me about him and no matter how sore my hand was tomorrow morning, I'd never regret it.

A little more than an hour later we were showered and lying on my bed in a semi reclined position. Bella had insisted on taking care of me and was holding a bag of ice on my hand. She reached up and ran her fingers through my messy damp hair.

"I love you," she whispered and leaned forward pressing a kiss on my lips.

"Tell me what he said to you. _Please_."

She sighed and said, "You're not going to let this go are you?"

"Nope, not any more than you are. So you go first."

"Why do I have to go first?" she mock-whined.

"Because yours happened first," I said with a light chuckle that caused her to smack me playfully on the arm.

"Ouch," I whined.

"Oh shit, Edward. Did I hurt your hand?" she screeched in a moment of panic.

I couldn't help the shit-eating grin that spread on my face as she realized I was teasing her and wasn't really hurt. Well at least not my arm where she had smacked me. My hand well…that was another story. But I still didn't regret hitting him.

"Ok, that was mean, I'm sorry. Now will you please tell me what he said to you?"

"Fine. But I tell you what, buddy, when your hand is healed you are in so much trouble."

She couldn't keep a straight face any more than I could a few minutes ago.

"Mmm, I look forward to it, Sweetness," I said to her while suggestively wagging my eyebrows at her.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she began. "I was coming out of the bathroom when I saw them. I tried to walk right past them and pretend I didn't recognize them. But Alice came up to me and stopped me which more or less left me a sitting duck right in front of them. So Alice and I started to walk away after she asked me if I'd seen your parents and that's when Kate called my name."

"She'd seen you."

"Yes unfortunately. So Kate had just been bitchy, saying some crap about running into the worst people, which was no big deal. I rolled my eyes at her and blew it off. But then Garrett noticed her talking to me. So of course he had to come over and add his two cents, telling me how hot I looked and if I'd been this hot in college he'd have tried to take my hot little virginal ass to bed sooner. Which pissed Kate off so she turned it around saying no matter how good I looked I was probably still the worst sex partner anyone could ever have."

"I'm so fucking glad I hit that ass. Was that all they said?"

"Yeah, I didn't give him much chance to say anything else. I went off on him and called him a name or two and told him what a piece of shit I thought he was. But of course because I was in full rant mode, I told Kate that she was the one I truly felt sorry for since Garrett has little dick syndrome and that one day I hoped she found a real man."

I snorted at her comment. I loved it when she was feisty and I could see that fire burning in her eyes yet again. _Damn it made her hot_. "I don't imagine he took that too well."

"No, I think he was just about to retaliate when you showed up. And yeah. I know how you love swooping in and saving the day for me," she teased as she got up to go dump out the ice bag. The ice had started to melt and had begun to drip on the bed.

On her way back to the bed she asked, "So I heard what he said to you at the end when you hit him. I'm guessing anything he said before that was much of the same."

"Yeah it was," I told her and filled her in on the rest. "Prick has no respect for anyone or anything other than his own wants and needs."

"He's always been that way. Unfortunately I learned it the hard way," she said before plopping back on her pillow.

"Hey," I said rolling over partially on top of her and hitching my leg over hers, trapping her below me. "I can see where your thoughts are going and you better stop it now. You are an amazing woman and a phenomenal lover. Making love with you is like nothing I've ever experienced before, Bella. I can't get enough of you. I crave your touch and crave to touch you. You're like a siren calling to me. You're everything I could ever want in a partner and a lover and don't you ever forget it."

"I'll try not to."

"Hmm, well if you do, I'll just have to put in copious amounts of time reminding you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes, ma'am," I whispered against her neck as I began to nibble and kiss on it.

"Mmm, I think my memory is fuzzy. How about reminding me now?"

I answered her with my body instead of words as I covered her mouth with mine and set about reminding her exactly how amazing we were together.

**~*BPOV*~**

_**December 15, 2010**_

I was lying in bed thinking about all the changes that had taken place recently. November came and went quickly but it certainly hadn't been uneventful. The first couple of weeks I had been busy with wrapping up the case I was working on and doing a lot of soul searching. The more time that went by, the more and more I felt ready to take that next step with Edward. There were a few things that had happened to make me finally realize I was ready and didn't want to wait any longer.

The first had been when I finished up with my sessions with Dr. Bartholomew. She had said that she felt regular sessions were no longer needed and I could schedule one at any time if I felt it were necessary. With that and the case surrounding everything that had happened being officially closed, came a sense of relief. It was like a giant weight had been lifted from our shoulders.

As Edward and I continued to "date" we also discovered new things about each other. Little things like the fact he didn't like green beans or that I was allergic to cats were being discovered. It was as if some sort of invisible force had been removed from the progression of our relationship and even though it seemed impossible to do so, we were still growing even closer.

We now knew everything about each other and didn't have to hide anything. Like why we were doing our job or why we were vacationing on a beach in Capri. We had no secrets. Everything felt fresh, new, and exciting like we were rediscovering each other for the first time. It was like it had been those first couple of weeks we spent together in Capri and I was falling even more in love with him and it was thrilling and amazing.

The second thing came right after Thanksgiving when my niece made an early arrival and Edward and I were at the hospital visiting my brother and sister-in-law. I had held Landon many times when he was a baby, but I guess due to the fact I was still in college and barely twenty-one when he had been born I hadn't ever pictured myself as a mother. But when Jane handed me the little pink bundle that was Natalie Renee, and I held her in my arms, I felt that same pang and yearning I'd had on my birthday when I had watched my brother and Jane interact with Landon. I was thrilled that Edward had seen my reaction to her. Later that evening was the first time we had ever officially talked about having kids someday. He told me how beautiful I looked holding my niece and that he wanted that for us someday. We didn't get into the specifics, how many or when, just that we wanted them and we wanted more than one. I knew we would have to talk about it more later but for know it was enough to know that we both wanted the same things in our future.

The third and final thing that had happened was when Edward and I were out doing some Christmas shopping. Esme had called asking us if we could run an errand for her. Apparently she was helping her friend Maggie stage her house that she was selling. The delivery timing of a sofa Esme and Maggie were waiting got messed up somehow so Esme called Edward and asked him if he and Jasper could pick it up at the furniture store for her.

After running by Edward's office to pick up his company truck, we had picked up Jasper and then the sofa. It was while I had been waiting for the guys to carry in the sofa and started roaming around the house that I had my epiphany.

When I had come to the large bay window in the kitchen I had sat down in the window seat and suddenly I could see it all. I saw a couple of kids and Coco running around and Edward playing with them. I then wondered what the hell I was waiting for. The future I wanted was right there in front of me waiting for me to reach out and grab it. All I had to do was take that leap of faith and do it.

If there had been any shred of doubt left in my mind, it was washed away when Edward found me. He had asked me about what had me so deep in thought. I had asked him to tell me what he saw when he looked out into the yard, which was loaded with a swing set and several toys. When he had nearly the same vision as I had, it only served to solidify the thoughts and feelings I was already having. I knew it was time. The only difference had been, he gave a number to the amount of kids he saw playing. Four was what he'd said. He wanted four children. My first thought when he'd said that had been, _four_, _did I want that many kids?_ And almost instantly I had answered myself with a yes. If it was with Edward, I wanted it all.

From that moment on it was like some magic switch had been flipped and I knew I was ready. But then my dilemma became how did I tell him? Did I just one night out of the blue say, "Oh by the way, Edward, I'm ready to move in with you now?" That just didn't feel right. I needed something more; something that would show him without a doubt that I was unequivocally ready. As it was we were beginning to have more and more sleepovers, so we were gravitating towards it already, but he'd done so much for me that I wanted to do something special to show him.

So what was I to do? Decisions, decisions. How did I show the man I loved more than life itself that I was one hundred percent ready to take on the next phase of our lives? Just as I started to doze off, the perfect thought came to me. I knew exactly how to show him. I would need some help as I wasn't certain it could be done. But I knew who the perfect person was to help me. Having formed a solid plan, I relaxed and made it my mission to call her first thing in the morning. She would know exactly how to help.

**Thanks for reading, I hope you all enjoyed it. I know Edward finally getting to knock the crap out of Garrett was awesome for me. I hope you liked it as well. **

**For those of you who might not be familiar with the story between King Henry VIII and his many wives, he was known for beheading a few of them. He divorced his first wife Katherine which was unheard of in those times, and married Anne Boleyn when she promised she could give him a son. A male heir to the throne. But when she was later convicted of treason and adultery and accused of seducing the king with witchcraft he had her beheaded. So if you were confused by the teasing between Edward and Bella, hopefully this explains for ya. **

**Don't forget the link for donating to Fandom Fights Tsunami is** http:/fandomfightstsunami(.)blogspot(.)com

**You can even view the list of all the authors contributing on tier site. **

**See ya next time where we will see what Bella has in store for Edward, and whose help it is she is enlisting? He might just have a big surprise for her as well. :)**

**EA  
**


	29. Just say Yes

**Hi, everyone. I know you are all dying to see what Bella has planned for Edward so I will keep this short. So first as always I must thank My-Bella and Hope4more. Trust me they really keep me out of trouble. **

**Second I have to thank all of you who voted for TLA in the Inspired Fan Fic Awards. TLA won in the Best Villain and in the Best Emmett category and it is all because of you, the most amazing readers I have. So thank you, it means the world to me! **

**Third, Stephenie Meyer still owns it all. There's more at the end, but for now let's see what Miss Swan is up to. **

_I'm running out of ways to make you see  
I want you to stay here beside me  
I won't be ok and I won't pretend I am  
So just tell me today and take my hand  
Please take my hand  
Please take my hand_

_Just say yes, just say there's nothing holding you back  
It's not a test, nor a trick of the mind  
Only love_

_It's so simple and you know it is  
You know it is, yeah  
We can't be to and fro like this  
All our lives  
You're the only way to me  
The path is clear  
What do I have to say to you  
For Gods sake, dear_

_Just say yes, just say there's nothing holding you back  
It's not a test, nor a trick of the mind  
Only love_

_Just say yes, coz Im aching and I know you are too  
For the touch of your warm skin  
As I breathe you in_

_I can feel your heart beat through my shirt  
This was all I wanted, all I want  
Its all I want_

_**Just Say Yes, by Snow Patrol**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**December 16, 2010**_

After waking up and rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I was reaching for my phone to call Edward's mother before I had even climbed out of bed. To say I was excited about my plan was an understatement. But I was also slightly nervous at the same time. I knew taking the next step in our relationship, living together, was what Edward wanted and what I wanted too. But what if his parents were old fashioned and would think that it was wrong. What would I do then?

"Shit," I cursed under my breath. Maybe I should just tell Edward I was ready to move in with him and not try to show him with some sort of grand gesture. I racked my brain trying to figure out if there was anyone else who could help me, but there really wasn't. Plus I also wanted to do something that told him in no uncertain terms I was truly ready for this.

Just as I started to worry more, the thought occurred to me that Alice had been living with Jasper before they got married. It's true they had been engaged at the time so that may have made a difference to Carlisle and Esme. But the bottom line was, Esme was the one I needed to help me with this, so I needed to trust that she would be receptive to the idea. I had to believe that they were aware of what Edward wanted for us, and that they would want him to be happy. After all it wasn't like we hadn't already lived together for several weeks. Taking a deep breath I dialed her number.

"Hi, Esme, it's me, Bella," I said into the phone.

"Good morning, dear," she replied sweetly.

"Esme, the reason I'm calling is…um…I need your help," I practically blurted out in my state of nervousness.

"Bella, sweetheart, what's wrong? Are you ok? Is Edward?" I could hear worry in her voice and that was the last thing I had wanted to do. In fact it was exactly the opposite of what I wanted to do. But given the way I had told her why I was calling it was no wonder she had become concerned.

I immediately set out to ease her worries, taking a few slow calming breaths so that I could talk to her without further worrying her. "We're both fine, I promise. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for you to worry. What I need help with is a good thing. Or at least I think it is."

"Well then why don't you fill me in, dear?" she said, her voice much more relaxed now that I had assured her Edward and I were both ok.

"I've decided what I want to give Edward for Christmas. But I'm not sure if it's even possible or if there is enough time. That would be where I need your help."

"How about you take a deep breath and slow down a bit and tell me what it is," she said with a light chuckle. "And then I will help you however I can."

I wanted her to be excited. Of course that might be easier if I actually told her why I was calling. So I began to fill her in on what I wanted to do and why I wanted to do it. I was so relieved when she sounded just as excited as I was and she was certain Edward would love what I had planned. She even had an idea of her own to make it even more special for him. She really was an amazing woman. Both of Edward's parents were wonderful and it was so easy to see why he was such an amazing man.

Several minutes later we had our plan to pull off my Christmas gift to Edward all set and ready to put in motion. "Ok, so I have my list of things I need to do. You'll call me as soon as you find out what else I need to do so they'll hold it for me?" I asked her, smiling so wide my face was beginning to hurt. I was hardly able to contain my excitement that Esme was completely on board with my plan.

"I will. I'll make the calls as soon as we are done talking," she assured me. Then after a brief pause she spoke softly, her voice giving away just how happy she was for Edward and me. "Oh, Bella, he is going to be so surprised. But even more than surprised he is going to be so happy. I can't thank you enough for how happy you have made him." By the time she'd finished speaking her voice was wavering slightly with her emotions as if she might be on the verge of tears.

"I love him so much, Esme," I whispered into the phone as I started to get a bit choked up myself. My own emotions were starting to get to me.

"I know you do, sweetheart, just as he does you. Now before we are both blubbering fools, I should go so I can make those calls for you. We don't have much time to pull this all together."

"Ok. Um…Esme?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Thank you."

"You are so very welcome, Bella."

_**December 24, 2010**_

The days following my conversation with Esme were incredibly busy. With work, Christmas shopping, and taking care of the many details that went with what I had planned for Edward, I was running like a chicken with my head chopped off. But as exhausting as it all was, I loved every minute of it. It had been such a long time since I had felt so alive and so happy. And if things went the way I thought they would, after tonight I would be even happier.

It had been incredibly hard to keep what I was doing from Edward. He had noticed something was up, but luckily for me he hadn't pressed me for details when I told him I was working on a surprise for him for Christmas. I asked him to just trust me when I told him everything was fine and that I would tell him if it weren't. And he did, even though I could still see how he was trying to figure things out in his head.

I finished packing what I'd need in my overnight bag and added the things I had gotten from Edward's loft for him earlier today. If everything went according to plan, we would both need what we wanted to wear tomorrow when both our families got together to celebrate Christmas. I normally went to Forks to spend the day with them, but this year I had asked them to come here. They were under the impression we were all gathering at Carlisle and Esme's house, but if Edward said yes to my gift then Esme would fill everyone else in on the plan and they would all be joining us where we would be at, which had been her idea to go along with what I had planned. All I would have to do is text her with a simple yes or no to keep her informed. According to her though, there was only one answer I would be receiving. I hoped she was right, because I was offering a lot more than just for the two of us to move in together.

I heard my doorbell ring and knew it would be Esme here to pick me up and take me to pick Edward up from work. After she dropped me off she would then take our bag to the destination of my surprise for Edward and set a few things up for me as she waited for us to arrive.

Not wanting to keep her waiting, I grabbed the bag and hurried downstairs.

"You all ready to go?" she asked when I opened the door.

"Yes. I have our bag ready and everything else is already set up."

"Good. What about the puppy?"

"Alice came to pick her up this morning and they are keeping her overnight."

"Sounds like you're all set," she said with a huge smile on her face. "Let's go."

I followed her out to her car and after setting the bag on the back seat we were on our way. A short time later we arrived at Edward's work.

"Thank you so much for all your help. I could have never done this without you," I said to Esme as I leaned over and gave her a hug.

"It was my pleasure, dear," she said as she returned the hug.

I was just about to climb out of the car when Esme reached over and took hold of my hand.

"Bella, I just wanted to say one more thing before you go."

Her face had taken on a more serious expression, but not in a bad way. There was so much love and affection reflected on her face and shining in her eyes as she began to speak.

"I wanted you to know how much Carlisle and I have come to care for you. We love you like one of our own, dear. And I know you are at least a little worried about what you are about to do. But don't be. My son loves you and he loves you so completely that there is just no way he won't be thrilled with what you have planned. Oh he'll be surprised alright, but he will be thrilled. So you get up there and knock his socks off. Ok?"

"Ok," I answered her as she pulled me to her for another hug.

**~*EPOV*~**

I had been working all day and was ready to go home. It was Christmas Eve, a day I usually didn't work, but Jasper and I had a big proposal to put together for one of our best clients. They had recently purchased a new home and since we had done the security system on their current home they wanted us to do the new one as well. But because of what I was giving Bella for Christmas I knew I'd be out of town for part of next week. So even though I wanted nothing more than to be home with Bella, I was sitting at my desk finishing up the layout of the system. I was completely engrossed in my work when I suddenly had the feeling I was being watched.

Unable to shake the feeling, I looked up to find my gorgeous girlfriend leaning against the doorway to my office. She looked incredibly sexy standing there in her brown leather coat, matching boots with a long sweater and tight jeans that highlighted every curve of her slender legs. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail, but some of it had fallen out over the course of the day framing her face softly. She was simply beautiful and completely unaware of it.

"Hi," she said with one of the brightest smiles I had ever seen on her face. It lit up her beautiful features better than any Christmas decoration ever could.

"Hi. How long have you been standing there watching me, Miss Swan?" I asked her as I got up and made my way across my office to her. I had missed her terribly today having gotten up and left before she had woken up.

"Not long. Just a few minutes," she replied sweetly.

The second I reached her I pulled her into my arms and kissed her, not holding back at all, letting her know that I had missed her.

"And do you like what you see?" I asked her as I buried my face against the soft skin of her neck. I could feel what my closeness to her was doing to her. I knew that her heart had speed up by the feeling of her pulse racing in the vein of her neck. As I kissed along that same vein I felt her shudder in my arms causing me to smile at just how responsive she always was to my touch. I loved that I had such an effect on her because she did the same thing to me often without even having to touch me. Sometimes just her presence alone caused my heart to race and this had been one of those times. I had felt it jump in my chest the moment I had looked up and saw her standing in the doorway. It made me want to forgo my plans for next week when I took her on the trip I was planning to give her for Christmas. It also made me want to give her the other thing I had now.

"Yes I was enjoying the view and if popping in unexpectedly will get me kissed like that every time, I think I will have to do it more often," she said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Mmm, you know you are welcome here any time, Sweetness. Did you miss me too much and couldn't wait to see me, or is there a reason for your visit?" I asked.

She smiled up at me, and I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something about it. Maybe anticipation like she was a little kid about to be unleashed in a chocolate factory. Her smile got wider as she said to me, "Actually, even though I did miss you, I'm here to give you your Christmas present."

All sorts of things started going through my mind. Like why did she want to give it to me now and what was it. Then being a guy I thought about that fantasy most every guy has about having office sex. Was that why she was here? Was she going to give me some fantasy for Christmas? Because if she was, I sure as hell wasn't gonna turn it down. Not that I'd ever turn down any opportunity to make love to her anyways no matter where it was.

"You are? But why? Why aren't you waiting until tomorrow?" I asked her, not wanting to jump to conclusions about why or what it might be.

"It's a surprise. So you will just have to wait until we get there."

"And just where are we going?"

"I can't tell you that. If I did it wouldn't be a surprise. Can you leave now? I can wait if you need me to," she told me. I could see the glint of mischief in her eyes. She was up to something and I was dying to find out what it was.

"I can go now. Just let me put these plans I was working on away." I had hoped to get a little further in the plans for the alarm system I was working on, but there was nothing in this world that would keep me from finding out what she was up to.

Bella followed me over to my desk. She sat on the corner watching me as I put my work things away. Once I had, I grabbed my leather jacket and we left.

"Where's your car?" I asked her when we reached the parking lot and I noticed it wasn't there.

"Oh I had your mom drop me off so we didn't have to take two cars."

"Ok. Well then you do realize you are going to have to tell me where we are going so I can drive us there," I told her, thinking I'd found a loophole that would force her to clue me in.

"Not so fast, hot stuff," she said, placing her hand on my chest and smiling up at me slyly.

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Instead of answering me she stuck her hand in my pants pocket and pulled out the keys to my car.

"You're not driving. I am."

"Um, Bella, do you know how to drive a stick-shift?" I asked her as I wrapped my hand around hers that was holding my keys.

"Hmm, I think you already know the answer to that question," she whispered in a low tone that went straight to my groin causing my pants to tighten significantly.

"I was…ah… referring to the car," I said as I swallowed, trying to control myself as she pressed her body against mine.

"Yes, Edward, I do."

"Are you sure?"

"Why, Edward Cullen, I am beginning to get the impression you don't trust me to drive your car."

She was trying to pout but was having a hard time doing it and the corners of her lips kept threatening to turn up into a smile. Plus I could see the sparkle in her eyes and it was anything but sad. Whatever she had planned she was extremely excited about it. So I gave in and let go of her hand.

"Fine," I told her and gave her a quick peck on her now smirking lips.

I then walked her to the driver's side of the car and opened the door for her after she unlocked it. After making sure she knew where the controls were to adjust the seat position, I walked around and got in the other side.

She started the car and then said, "Ok, I need you to do one more thing for me."

"What's that?"

"I need you to close your eyes and lean over this way?"

"Why?" I asked upon seeing her pull a black scarf of some sort out of her coat pocket.

"Do you trust me?"

"With my life."

"Then will you please just do as I asked? I really want this to be a surprise for you."

I could see how much this really meant to her so once again I gave her what she wanted. Of course I'd give her everything and anything she wanted so it wasn't like it was that hard to do.

Once Bella had tied the scarf around my eyes I felt her shift the car into gear and begin to go. But nothing could have prepared me for what she did next.

"You know as part of my FBI training we learned defensive driving skills and how to drive during high speed car chases," she said and I could tell by the tone of her voice that she had an evil grin on her face right now. I could picture it in my head. I had seen that grin before and while it was beautiful, I knew she was up to doing something that involved my car.

"Bella."

"Edward."

"Sweetness, wh—" My words were cut off by the sound of the tires screeching and the car lunging forward with the sound of her giggles filling the car.

"What's the matter, hot shot? Did I scare ya a little?"

"No, but you surprised the shit out of me."

"You ain't seen nothing yet. Just wait till we get to where we're going.

As soon as the words left her mouth, I felt the car accelerate as she gave it gas and shifted the gears. And fuck if the mental image I was getting of her behind the wheel of my car wasn't turning me on.

"You are so gonna pay for this, Sweetness," I told her as I reached over and ran my hand along her inner thigh.

Snickering she said, "I bet you will and I look forward to every minute of it." And with that she gave the car more gas and increased the speed.

"Damn," I muttered. I was forced to adjust myself in my pants as I became increasingly hard.

Bella handled my car like a pro. She drove faster than I had expected her to, but shifted it through the gears with ease as she did. The ride was very smooth and not at all rough or jerky like I thought it might be. It was just another instance where she surprised me in a good way and showed me again how amazing she was. No one else had ever driven my car except me and I should have never doubted she could do it.

I estimated it was about twenty minutes later when I felt the car slow and eventually stop. I started to reach up and pull the blindfold off my eyes, but Bella's hand was grabbing mine as she told me to stop.

"Where are we?" I asked her.

"Just be patient for a few more minutes and you will see."

"Ok."

"Now stay put and I'll come around to guide you while you walk."

"Yes ma'am," I said sternly, like I would have back in my Army days. I even saluted her. Only now since it was Bella and not an Army drill sergeant, I had a cocky smirk on my face.

I felt Bella take my hand in hers. She directed me to walk straight forward for about thirty feet before she had me stop and go up four steps. I guess some aspects of my Army training would never go away since I had actually counted the number of steps. It had been drilled into us to always be aware of our surroundings and to do things such as count our steps and remember the directions we had gone in if captured. Well I'd been captured alright, but I sure as hell didn't want to be rescued.

We took a few steps forward again before I heard her doing what sounded like opening a door. It kind of caught me off guard because I was certain that we had not gone in the direction of her house and we had definitely gone too far to be at the loft. Plus the loft wouldn't have steps to climb before getting to the door. The only other option would have been my parents' house but we hadn't gone far enough to get there even though Bella had been pushing the speed limit for most of the drive. So that left me totally clueless as to where we were.

"Bella are you going to tell me where we are?"I asked her. My patience was starting to waver in my desire to know what she was up to. I was really beginning to feel like a little kid about to get what he wanted more than anything for Christmas.

"Be patient," I heard my mother say and wondered what the heck she was doing wherever it was we were. She then kissed me on the cheek and said she'd see me tomorrow. I heard her tell Bella goodbye and the door open again.

"Bella, you're killing me here."

"Just one more minute," she said as she closed the door behind us.

I heard her moving around the room we were in until she came to a stop right in front of me. Her hands slid up my chest and her lips touched mine briefly before she whispered, "I love you. Merry Christmas. You can remove the scarf now."

I looked around the room I was in, taking in my surroundings. There was a Christmas tree, which was taller than I was, in the corner by the fireplace. The fireplace was lit and I could feel the warmth of it from where I was standing. Situated in front of the fireplace was a mattress that had a few thick plush looking blankets and several pillows. The room was vaguely familiar and I wasn't sure where we were until I recognized the sofa that Jasper and I had delivered here for my mother and her friend earlier this month. It had been pushed to the side to make room for the makeshift bed on the floor.

"Sweetness, why are we here?" I asked her, not understanding. She had said that she was giving me my Christmas present so unless she was giving me a house, I was confused.

She took my hand and led me over to the mattress on the floor and asked me to sit down with her. I watched as she kicked off the boots she was wearing and then joined her to sit on the mattress after taking off my own shoes.

Sitting on her knees, she looked up at me and began to talk. "Before I was kidnapped you had asked me to move in with you. At the time I was prepared to tell you yes, that I wanted it more than anything. But then everything happened and despite the fact that I still wanted that for us, I needed to find myself and be me again. I needed to feel whole so that I could give all of myself to you and know that I was doing it for all the right reasons."

"And I understand all of that, Sweetness. I hope you know that."

"I do and I love you so much and can't even begin to thank you enough for all the love and support you have given me."

"I love you too. But what has all of that got to do with us being here?"

"You remember the day we brought the sofa here for your mom?"

"Yes."

"You remember what you told me you saw when you looked out into the yard and saw the swing-set and the toys?"

"Yes," I answered with a soft smile while brushing back the loose hairs hanging in her face as I remembered the vision I'd had of Bella and I playing with our children in the future.

"I…um… never told you, but just before you found me sitting in that window seat I'd just had nearly the exact same vision. I think you had seen us with a couple more kids than I did, but for the most part we'd seen the same thing," she said with a slight smile while staring into my eyes as if she were willing me to read her mind and know what she was trying to say to me before she went on.

I began to wonder what it was she was struggling to tell me. The fact she had pointed out we'd had similar visions made me wonder if she was trying to tell me something about kids and our future. _Oh shit, _I thought to myself. Was she trying to tell me she was pregnant? Was that why she brought me here to this house? Because I had seen us with kids in our future here and she thought I'd be upset and thought that by reminding me of that vision it would somehow help me take the news?

I knew Bella was on birth control, but I also knew nothing was one hundred percent effective. The truth of the matter was if that's what she was going to tell me, I'd be thrilled. There was only one thing in this world that would make me happier than to see Bella carrying my child and that would be for her to be my wife. And I was working on taking care of that part soon.

I had to ease her worries, let her know she could tell me whatever it was she was trying to get out. "Hey," I said softly to her. "Bella, you can tell me anything."

"I know. It's just a little harder for me to put what I want to say into words. I can't articulate everything as easily as you can," she said with a light laugh and paused for a moment, before reaching up to caress the side of my face. When she did I pulled her onto my lap hoping that it would comfort her and help her relax. The fire popped causing us both to look in its direction but after a moment she was staring at her hands as she nervously picked at her fingernails.

"Sweetness," I said lifting her chin gently and forcing her to look at me. "I love you and nothing will ever change that."

She smiled at me and I saw that twinkle return to her eyes. "I know, I really do. I'm not so much worried about what I want to tell you, just that you'll think I'm crazy for how I've chosen to do it."

"I might," I teased her to lighten the mood a bit. "But we'll never know if you don't tell me."

"Ok. From the moment I realized that we both saw the same thing for our future, I racked my brain to figure out how to tell you what I wanted and how to do it so that there would be no doubt in your mind at all that I was one hundred percent ready to take that next step with you."

When she mentioned being ready to move forward, I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I had wanted this for so long, but was happy to give her the space she needed to get there on her own. "So what I've been trying to say is that I am ready to take that step and move in with you. But this is where I want to do it. I know you may not yet be ready for those visions that we had that day, but I figured the first step towards making them come true some day would be for us to move in here and begin the next phase of our lives together and see where it takes us. I've put a deposit down on this house. We can have all those things we saw that day if you want them. All you have to do is say yes."

I searched her face and saw so much love, devotion, all her hopes and dreams swimming in her eyes. She was ready to move on with our lives. I had jumped to all sorts of conclusions but had never thought about what she'd actually told me. But this was what we both had been striving towards the last several weeks. This was the place she had fought so hard to get us to. And I can admit that at first I had been really concerned. I had been worried about her pushing herself too hard to move back into her house and live by herself. I had trusted her judgment and now I was being rewarded by the gorgeous woman in front of me. As much as I had hated those nights when she called me crying unable to go back to sleep, when I looked at her now and saw a woman who was even more alive and happy than the woman I had met on the beach six months ago I couldn't regret one minute of it.

I pressed my lips together in thought for just a minute, thinking about what I wanted to say to her, other than the obvious which was yes.

Giving her a kiss, I then said, "Let me make sure I have this right. You're ready to move in with me and ready start the next phase in our lives?"

"Yes," she answered eagerly.

I kissed her again, lingering a little longer. "And you put a deposit on this house because you want for us to move in here and start our future here?"

"Yes," she repeated with even more enthusiasm.

I kissed her a third time, even longer than before. "And most importantly, you love me and you are sure you're ready for this."

"That's why we're here," she said with a grin and a sparkle in her eyes I had never seen until now. They were glowing.

"Well, then I guess there is really only one thing for me to say. Yes. Yes, Bella, I would love to move in here with you and begin our future together."

Before I knew what hit me, she let out a squeal and was pushing me backwards on the mattress and attacking my lips with hers, repeating over and over again how much she loved me and how happy she was. I'd go to the ends of the earth, to hell and back, hell I'd shoot the moon from the sky if that's what it took see her this happy every day. Tonight was a new beginning for us, one that would be filled with love and happiness. And I was more sure now than ever of what I had planned for us next week. It didn't take long for us to get caught up in our excitement. Letting our emotions carry us away, soon we found ourselves lost in one another, making love in the soft glow of the dying fire and the twinkling Christmas tree lights.

**~*BPOV*~**

After making love and falling asleep for a short time, Edward and I woke up starving. Since neither of us had, had dinner or wanted to go anywhere we ordered a pizza to be delivered. While we waited, Edward and I talked about our immediate plans and moving.

"What do we have to do to make this house officially ours?" he asked while putting a few logs on the fire before it completely died out.

"It's mostly all been taken care of," I explained. "Maggie had already moved out of the house and was selling it herself and there was no real estate agent or company to go through and no one living in it. Which made it easy to make tonight happen for us. I did some research on the homes in the area and got some expert advice from your mom. Your mom also informed me that the current ad Maggie had running to advertise the house was expiring. So once Maggie and I haggled out a price I gave her a deposit to hold the house off the market until I had a chance to propose the idea of moving in here to you."

"So then are the papers drawn up? When can we move in and what are we going to do about our houses?"

"You sound excited, Mr. Cullen."

He leaned over me and placed a sweet lingering kiss on my lips that told me just how excited he was. But then to make sure he said, "I am."

The door bell rang indicating our pizza had arrived and while Edward took care of that, I sent Esme a quick text simply saying yes so she'd know all systems were go for tomorrow. After that I grabbed us both a bottle of water out of the fridge. Once Edward returned to the living room with the pizza we ate and finished making plans for our move. I told him the rest of the things I had taken care of, such as I'd already gotten everything set up to place my house on the market. He was certain that if he couldn't sell his loft that renting it shouldn't be hard to do, that people were always inquiring if any of the lofts in the building were available. We agreed that we wanted to move in as soon as possible so we'd go first thing Monday morning to get the ball rolling on a loan at the bank. But not wanting to be away from each other any longer, we also decided that we'd begin to pack up all the stuff at my house so it could go on the market right away and I would move into the loft with him.

A little while later, I found myself looking out the kitchen window. I'd come in here to put the left over pizza away and now I was looking into the backyard again. I felt Edward's arms slink around my waist and him place a kiss on top of my head.

"You're thinking about it again aren't you?" he whispered against my neck as he nuzzled his face against it.

I nodded and laid my head back against his shoulder. I had never felt so loved and so happy in all my life and he was the one to give all that to me.

He turned me around and pulled me against him. Cupping my face in his hands he kissed me softly, but the kiss was so full of how he felt for me. Love, care, passion and desire; it was all there. Breaking the kiss he placed one on my forehead while still holding my face in his hands like it was the most precious piece of porcelain on the planet. His gaze shot through me, right to my heart and soul, when he whispered, "We'll have it all, Sweetness. You, me and our children. We will have it all right here in this house. We'll make all our dreams come true. I love you so much and I can't wait to move in here and begin working on all those dreams."

"I love you too." I whispered as he picked me up and carried me back into the living room to make love to me again.

_**December 29**__**th**__**, 2010**_

It was finally Wednesday. I had been on cloud nine, actually more like cloud nine hundred, bouncing like Alice jacked up on Mountain Dew for the past few days. Or at least that's what Edward had kept telling me. Edward had given me a trip to New York City for Christmas and we were leaving this evening.

This had been the best Christmas I had ever had. Christmas Eve with Edward in the living room of what would very soon be our new house had been just the beginning of it. The next morning my surprise for Edward had continued when everyone in both our families joined us at the house to celebrate Christmas together. It had been a wonderful day for all of us and at one point I saw both of our mother's watching us with the most joyous and happy expression on their faces. It just made it all that much better to share our happiness with them knowing they were equally as happy for us. Everything just felt right, like this was how it was always meant to be.

After Christmas everything continued to fall into place perfectly for Edward and me to move into our new home. The only part of our plan we had to alter was we changed our minds and decided to live in my house instead of his loft. We were going to use the same real estate agent for both our places and when we contacted her to give her the go ahead to list my house and the information on Edward's, she said she was certain she already had someone who would be interested in Edward's loft. Besides that we also realized Christmas Day when Jasper and Alice brought Coco with them to the new house that there would be no place for her to run outside or go potty at the loft. So it just made more sense for us to stay at my house until we could move.

On Monday morning we had gone to the bank and applied for a loan to purchase the house. Because the housing market was so slow right now, the bank had been able to send an appraiser out yesterday and this morning we received word that we'd been approved for our loan. We were both thrilled. But first we had a trip to take and I was so looking forward to it. It would be just Edward and me for three days in New York City and I couldn't wait. I had been extremely surprised when Edward gave me a trip to New York City for Christmas. Just before Thanksgiving he had asked me if there was someplace I had always wanted to go. When I told him, I had never imagined he was going to give me a trip there. We had everything packed and ready to go, now all I had to do was get through the rest of this day at work. However it was proving to be difficult since I couldn't concentrate on anything except getting on that plane with Edward this evening.

_**December 31, 2010**_

Yesterday had been an amazing day. Edward and I had covered a lot of the area in New York City that was close to our hotel. The first place we had walked to was Rockefeller Center where we saw the giant Christmas tree standing tall while overlooking the ice skating rink below. We walked past the windows of NBC studios and waved to the people inside. It was too late in the day for anyone from the morning show to be there, but there had been a few people in there working who smiled and waved back as us as we went by.

While we were out and about we also saw places like Trump Tower, the Time Warner building and we went to this bakery on Bleecker Street called Magnolia Bakery where we had these cupcakes that were to die for. We had lunch in the Hard Rock Café and then walked through Grand Central Station.

Once we left Grand Central Station we took a cab north and toured the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. As we browsed through some of the immigration records in the American Family Immigration History Center, and saw all of the places all over the world where people had come from to start a new life here, I thought of Nana and how much I missed her. When I told Edward he again told me he was all for going to see her.

This morning we had gotten up early and had taken in the view from the top of the Empire State building and then spent as much time as we could in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, otherwise known as The Met. Everything we saw there, the paintings, statues and displays of how our lives have evolved over the years and the people that had been instrumental in those changes were absolutely amazing.

Then on our way back to the hotel we took a walk through Central Park and took in the beautiful scenery of it. We even had a snow ball fight and made snow angels. After our walk through the park we came back to the hotel and took a nap since it was New Year's Eve and we knew we'd be up late.

We were staying at the Ritz Carlton directly across from Central Park. I was standing at the balcony door to our room looking at the view we had of the park with its bare trees and the ground covered in a blanket of snow. I imagined that the view was just as incredible in the summer when the trees were full of bright green leaves. Edward was sitting on the sofa reading the paper when there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Edward said quickly as he jumped up to answer the door almost as if he were expecting whoever it was.

I stood and watched as he hurried to the door. I was thinking that maybe he had ordered dinner for us from room service, but I quickly found out that was far from the case.

Instead of a dinner tray, the hotel attendant wheeled in a portable clothing rack that had three garment bags hanging from it as well as a pair of men's dress shoes and a pair of women's high heeled red pumps.

I slowly inched my way across the room until I was standing just a couple of feet behind Edward. As soon as the hotel employee was gone, I tapped Edward on the shoulder and asked, "Edward, honey, what are you up to?" I stood there with one eyebrow raised, my arms folded across my chest, waiting for him to answer while at the same time trying to keep a straight face.

Edward rolled the cart away from the door and stood in front of me, pulling me against his chest. "That, my dear, is what we are going to wear when I take you out tonight. You didn't think we were going to ring the New Year in here in our hotel did you?"

"I wasn't sure. You hadn't mentioned anything so…what are we doing?"

"I didn't say anything because then it wouldn't be a surprise. And while I can think of all sorts of ways to ring in the new year here in our room," he said and then planted a hot kiss on my mouth. "I have a very special evening planned for us. One I hope we never forget."

"You know just being here with you is special enough for me, right?" It really was. I knew Times Square would be a crazy place, so as much as I would have loved to see the crystal ball drop in person since the square was only ten minutes away, I was just as happy to not have to fight the gigantic crowd that was sure to be there. But I also knew that if Edward had a special evening planned for us that I was sure to love it.

He glanced at his watch then gave me a quick kiss and said, "I can't wait to see you in your dress and it's nearly six-thirty now so we need to get ready. Our reservation is for eight-thirty and I am not sure how long it will take us to get there with the holiday traffic and parties going on all around town."

We only had one bathroom in our suite, and it wasn't that big. Since I would need the space of the bedroom to dress and the lighting in the bathroom to apply my makeup and do my hair, Edward said he'd shower first and pull the drapes in the living room of our suite and dress in there, allowing me to have the bedroom and connecting bathroom. He carried the longer of the two garment bags into the bedroom for me and hung it in the closet area of the room.

While Edward showered, I flipped through the channels of the TV and tried to occupy myself. It was hard though, I was even more excited now than I had been on Wednesday trying to get through my day at work. This must have been what Edward felt like when I had blindfolded him and took him to our new house. After what was about fifteen minutes that felt like fifteen hours, Edward emerged from the bedroom in nothing but a towel. I couldn't help biting my lip as I watched him walk over and grab a bottle of water out of the mini fridge. As he bent over I found myself wishing his towel would fall.

"What?" I asked him when he smiled slyly at me. I knew I'd been busted ogling him. But he was mine to look at so why hide it?

"I see that twinkle in your eyes, Sweetness, and the way you are about to chew through that bottom lip of yours. I know what you are thinking."

I got up and walked over to him and ran my hands up his bare chest. Placing a few kisses in the middle of it, I inhaled his fresh scent. That only added to the naughty thoughts I was already having. _Damn he felt and smelled good. _

When my hands slid around to grasp his ass, he took my hands in his. "Bella, if you don't stop that, we will never make it to dinner."

"Would that be so bad?"

"Believe me when I say I would love to take you into the bedroom and keep you there all night, but I really have something special planned so you go shower and I promise to make it up to you later," he explained as he gazed down at me. His voice was husky and eyes were blazing with emotion. Both were warming me like liquid fire was shooting through my veins. Neither was helping me want to wait until later to take things further between us. As if sensing my struggle he then said, "I promise it will be worth the wait."

The emotion in his eyes had changed to something more along the line of pleading. The excitement was still there, but so was the need for me to give in to what he wanted. Not since the first night I'd met him had I ever wanted to be able to read him so badly. "Ok," I said rising up and kissing his chin and then going to take my shower. It was obviously important to him that we do what he had planned so I didn't press him on it any more.

As I showered I began to think more about what Edward had said. Actually it was more about how he said it. He was up to something. We weren't just going to celebrate the New Year or have dinner. There was just a very slight hint of nervousness in his voice. Edward never got nervous at all when talking about making love or going anywhere together. In fact if anything he gets more confident and cocky when he wants to make love. With good reason too, the man fulfilled every desire I could possibly have and then some. But he was a little off and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why. I was sure it wasn't something bad though. Because even though he was off just the tiniest bit, he was happy. That I knew for sure.

Finished with my shower, I turned off the water and dried off. I then wrapped the towel around myself so I could comb through my hair and dry it. Once that was done, I walked over to the closet and unzipped the garment bag. I knew I shouldn't be surprised that Edward had again picked a gorgeous dress for me to wear. I had loved the dress he had picked out for my birthday and this one was even better. And of course it was red, Edward's favorite color on me. Pulling the dress the rest of the way out of the bag and seeing how formal it was made me wonder where it was we were going. _Just what are you up to Edward Cullen?_

I wasn't surprised to find that he had once again thought of everything. Purse, shoes, and this time he had even gone so far as to provide me with the proper undergarments; a strapless red lace bra and panty set that matched the color of the dress perfectly. After putting the underwear and the dress on, I made my way back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. I did my eye makeup a little darker than normal and choose a bright red lipstick to match my dress. I then sprayed my hair with some hairspray and scrunched it to give it a bit more wave than usual. Once I had added my necklace and bracelet from Edward along with my favorite pair of earrings, I turned to look at myself in the full length mirror on the bathroom wall.

The dress fit like it was made for me. It was crimson red in color with small capped sleeves that sat on the edge of my shoulders, enhanced by beaded detailing woven all through them. The neckline had a sort of soft draped curved shape to it and the entire top half of the dress was a fitted bodice made of silk that hugged me to just below my hips like a second skin. From there the dress flowed to the floor with a soft billowy full skirt.

I had never looked or felt more beautiful in my life. There had been times when I thought I looked incredibly good; my brother's wedding, Alice's wedding and on my birthday. But right here right now I truly felt beautiful. Excited to see what Edward had in store for us tonight, I quickly put what I needed into the small silver clutch purse he'd gotten me and slipped the red pumps on before heading into the living room.

Edward was standing at the large window overlooking the park. It appeared as though he was holding what looked like a small black blanket over his left arm, while fiddling with something in his pocket with his right hand. He turned quickly when I cleared my throat lightly to gain his attention and jerked his hand out of his pocket, instantly running it through his hair. Edward was definitely nervous and anyone who knew him would be able to see it. But I still couldn't figure out why. I mean sure we were obviously going out to a fancy dinner, but we had just done that for my birthday. He was trying to hide it, but the hand in the hair and the fidgeting with whatever it was in his pocket, gave him away.

"Hey there, handsome," I said as I made my way over to him and took in the sight of him in his tux.

I had almost reached him when he said, "Stop. Stay right there and don't move."

I snorted lightly and teased him, "You still trying to be an FBI agent, Cullen?"

"No," he said as he walked around me in a circle. "I just wanted to have a minute to admire how stunning you look." He leaned forward and brushed a soft kiss against my lips. And just that soft brush of his lips against mine caused my heart to flutter.

"Are you ready for our evening?" he asked.

"Yes, I just need to grab my coat."

"Here," he said handing me what I had seen him holding. "I didn't want you to get cold while wearing your dress."

I took it from him and saw it was a thick and extremely soft wool shawl. "It seems you've thought of everything, Mr. Cullen."

"Mmm, indeed I did," he cooed with a sexy smirk on his face. He skimmed his finger along the neckline of my dress so that he was barely touching the top of my bra.

Torn between wanting him to continue touching me and wanting to see what he had planned and why he was so nervous, I took a deep breath and said, "Edward, if you keep that up we won't make our dinner reservation."

"Using my own words against me, huh?"

"Yes 'cause now that you have me all dressed up I am dying to see what you have planned."

"You're right. We should go."

He helped me wrap the shawl around my shoulders and then escorted me down to the front lobby of the hotel where as we exited the front door there was a driver standing next to his limo holding a sign that said Cullen on it. I could imagine that the limo and taxis were incredibly busy in this city on New Year's Eve with all the partying and drinking that went on.

On our way to dinner we drove past Times Square and seeing it all lit up at night was so much more amazing than it had been during the day. I was surprised when I saw the driver take a turn at a sign that said Hudson River Piers. After a few more turns the driver pulled up on a pier that had the biggest boat I had ever seen. It was a huge yacht probably a hundred and fifty feet long and there were several other cars and limos parked with loads of people getting out and making their way to the yacht.

Our limo driver pulled up to the ramp-way leading to the yacht where he stopped and opened the door for Edward and me. Edward gave him a tip and asked him to return at twelve-thirty. The driver agreed and gave Edward his card in case our plans changed and we needed him to return sooner or later.

"Is this a party on a yacht we're going to?" I asked Edward as we made our way up the ramp.

"You could say that. It's dinner, dancing, and a cruise down the river where we get to watch the fireworks at midnight."

The inside of the yacht was amazing. It was decorated to reflect all of the glitz and glamour that went along with a celebration such as New Years Eve. There were multi-level interior decks and a dual grand staircase under the stunning enclosed atrium. The dining area had an ambiance of sexy sophisticated romance and each table was glowing with candle light.

We were escorted to our table by one of the many waitresses and were then given a glass of champagne and told dinner would be served shortly. The room filled quickly with the other guests. Once dinner had been served, the yacht pulled away from the pier and began its cruise along the river.

The time seemed to fly by as we spent the evening dancing, chatting with a few people we met, and taking in the sights we passed as they went by on the shores of Manhattan Island.

Just before midnight many of the guests made their way outside to the top deck of the ship to watch the fireworks display. The ship was anchored not far from the Statue of Liberty and we had been informed that the fireworks would appear directly above her.

As the time approached Edward and I were standing next to the rail and shouting along with everyone as the countdown began.

"Five…four…three…two…one…Happy New Year," everyone shouted as the first thunder of fireworks rang out and lit the dark sky and Lady Liberty below them.

Edward had been standing behind me with his arms wrapped around me to aid in keeping me warm. When I felt him pull away, I went to turn and give him the traditional midnight kiss but what I found took my breath away and brought tears to my eyes. I immediately knew why he'd been so nervous. Edward was down on one knee holding out a black velvet box that contained the most stunning ring I had ever seen in my life.

My chin began to quiver with emotion as he reached for my left hand and began to speak, "Isabella Marie Swan, I love you more than I ever imagined it was possible to love someone. In the short time we have known each other we've overcome many obstacles that were put in our path. But now that it's all behind us and we are about to embark on the next phase of our lives together, I would be thrilled if you would do me the honor of doing it as my wife. Sweetness, will you marry me?"

Without any hesitation at all, I cried out, "Yes, yes, yes, I will marry you."

After sliding the ring on my finger Edward stood and kissed me like I'd never been kissed before. We broke apart when we heard a loud round of applause thinking it was something going on with the celebration but realized they were cheering for us.

A waitress handed us each a glass of champagne and congratulated us.

"I love you. Happy New Year," I said as I tapped my glass lightly against Edward's.

"Happy New Year to you and I love you too, soon to be Mrs. Cullen."

I could barely wipe the smile from my face long enough to take a sip of my drink to toast our happy occasion. We enjoyed the rest of the cruise and had gotten many well wishes from those who had witnessed Edward proposing to me.

A short time later, Edward and I were back in our hotel and barely made it to the bed as we had our own private celebration to ring in the New Year and our new engagement. I couldn't wait to be his wife.

**Loved it, hated it, gosh I hope you didn't hate it, let me know. There are pictures to go with everything on my blog. Link is on my profile page. Because many of you have asked I am sad to say there are only a few chapters of TLA left. I don't want to give a number, but we are very close to the end. **

**Thanks so much for reading,**

**EA**


	30. Chapter 30 Marry Me

**Good afternoon everyone. Thank you to My-Bella and to Hope4more who are such a tremendous help to me, beta'ing, bouncing idea's off of and keeping me out of trouble. You guys rock! **

**I also want to say if you didn't receive a reply form me on your review I am so sorry. I was in the middle of replying to them last night when FanFic went haywire and wouldn't let me anymore. But I want all of you to know that I love reading them and they are so very much appreciated.  
**

**There are several pictures on my blog to go with this chapter. I must thank My-Bella for the wedding invitations and Bella's garter. Also Noelle_Seven for the pics of Bella and Edward in their wedding attire as well as her color enhancement of Bella's garter. You guys spoil me and I can't ever thank you enough. **

**It all still belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Well not Nana, cause Nana rocks and she is all mine!**

_Forever can never be long enough for me_  
_To feel like I've had long enough with you_  
_Forget the world now we won't let them see_  
_But there's one thing left to do_

_Now that the weight has lifted_  
_Love has surely shifted my way_  
_Marry Me_  
_Today and every day_  
_Marry Me_

_**Marry Me, by Train**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**April 1, 2011**_

It was amazing how fast time flew when you were excited, beyond happy and loving the life you were living. Not to mention extremely busy living an amazing life. No matter how busy, I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything. After Edward's wonderfully romantic proposal in New York we had come home and begun living our life together. The two of us, along with both sets of our parents, were leaving for Capri today. Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rose and the rest of our guests, which weren't many, would be arriving on the eighth.

Everyone had been beyond thrilled for us when we returned home from New York back in January and announced our engagement. The second Alice had seen the ring on my finger she had instantly taken off out of the room and returned a few minutes later with several Bride magazines. She squealed in delight as she told us that when she had seen the two of us dancing to _Lady in Red_ at her wedding she'd known it was just a matter of time before we'd be planning a wedding of our own. However her hopes of planning a huge elaborate production were quickly diminished when Edward and I immediately told her that we had already discussed what we wanted on the flight home.

Although Alice had been a little disappointed to learn Edward and I already knew when, where and how we wanted our wedding to take place, she got over it just as quickly as she had gotten upset. She had pouted when we wouldn't spill the details to her right away, but I promised her that after I had checked on a few things and if they worked out I'd be happy to tell her everything.

A couple of days later I had done just that. I had wanted to make sure Edward and I getting married on the beach in Capri would be ok with our parents as well as Nana. All five of them had been ecstatic and Nana had even insisted on having the reception in her garden patio if there weren't going to be too many guests. Edward and I had both been elated with her offer since we planned to keep things extremely simple and small. We wanted the day we tied ourselves to each other forever to be intimate and special.

We had spent the last few months getting settled into our new house. We had been extremely fortunate with selling my house and renting out Edward's loft. Our real estate agent had rented the loft immediately like she thought she would, and then one of the new agents that got transferred in to replace Jacob and Jessica had a small family and had purchased my house.

As Edward and I had gone through the process of moving and figuring out what changes we wanted to make to the house, we had a long talk about when we wanted to have kids. We were both relieved and happy to know we both wanted the same thing which was to start trying as soon as we were married. That was the reason I had a doctor's appointment this afternoon and if my suspicions were right, no trying would be needed. Since we had made the decision to try right away I had forgone getting my next shot when it was due about six weeks ago.

Then a few weeks ago when Carlisle and Esme had thrown a huge party for us, Edward and I had both been a little intoxicated. They had the party for us in place of the traditional bachelor and bachelorette parties. That night Edward and I had forgotten to use a condom. Carlisle had driven us home and we had pretty much attacked each other in our drunken horny stupor. The next morning when we realized what we had done, we were both ok with it knowing we'd be married in just a few short weeks anyway.

I was pretty certain Edward was aware that my period was late, but he hadn't said anything yet. I wasn't sure if he thought it would be too soon to tell or if he didn't want to know if maybe he was wrong, but he hadn't brought it up yet. If I wasn't pregnant then nothing needed to be said. If I was then I wanted to tell him on our wedding night. I had already gotten him a wedding gift, but I thought giving him the gift of knowing he was going to be a daddy would be the best one I could give him.

I finished packing up a few last minute things for the trip and then got ready for my appointment. I couldn't wait to find out.

_**April 9, 2010**_

"What sort of wedding traditions do you think Nana wants to talk to us about?" Edward asked. He let go of my hand and draped his arm around my shoulders while we walked up the beach the short distance to Nana's house.

Both sets of our parents, along with Edward's grandparents, were staying with Nana while Edward, myself, Em, Rose, Alice and Jasper were all staying in the house where Edward and Jasper had stayed when they had been here watching over me. Nana had called me a few minutes ago asking for Edward and me to come to her house a little earlier than we had planned today. We were all going to be there this afternoon, setting up for the rehearsal dinner tonight, but she wanted to see the two of us alone for some reason. She had said there were a couple of traditional Italian wedding customs that we couldn't overlook.

"I'm not sure but they must be important to her for her to be so adamant about them," I said while looking up at Edward as we came to the path that led from the beach up to Nana's garden and patio. It's the same path I had walked down last June on the night I'd met Edward on the beach and the same path I would be walking down tomorrow to marry him. If someone had told me nearly a year ago that I would meet the love of my life and be marrying him in less than a year, I would have thought they were insane. But here we were and tomorrow was that day and it couldn't get here fast enough for me.

As we came to the edge of Nana's garden and the end of the path, Edward stopped and turned to face me. Brushing back my hair that was blowing across my face in the warm ocean breeze, he leaned down and gave me a soft sweet kiss and wrapped me in his arms.

"I'm going to miss you next to me in bed tonight," he whispered while resting his forehead against mine.

"I know. I'll miss you too. But just think after tomorrow we never have to sleep alone again. We will have the rest of our lives together."

"We will. I can't wait for you to be Bella Cullen."

"Me either," I said resting my head on his chest and wrapping my arms around him even tighter. I didn't want to let him go.

We reluctantly released our hold on one another and made our way across the garden and patio towards the sliding glass doors leading into Nana's kitchen.

Nana had been disappointed that Edward and I were not having a traditional church wedding but was thrilled that we wanted to get married on Capri. She was also excited that we had agreed to include a few traditional Italian wedding customs in our special day.

We had chosen to get married on a Sunday since Nana said it was believed to be the luckiest day of the week for a wedding. Italian traditions called for the bride and groom to be separated the night before the wedding and not see each other until just before the ceremony, which is why we would be apart tonight. While Edward and I weren't crazy about the idea, we also thought it would make our day more exciting by doing it that way. _As if we really could be any more excited than we already were. _So tonight all the guys would stay in the vacation home and all the girls would stay at Nana's.

In addition to having a wedding cake we were also using the Italian tradition of Bomboniera. The Italian treat was almonds with a white candy coating on them. It was said to signify the coming together of the bitter and the sweet that goes with any marriage and the white represented the purity of the day. They were placed in small tulle bags tied with ribbons and given to each guest in odd numbers of either five or seven, which were considered to be the luckiest numbers. Edward and I had chosen seven since we had been together for about seven months when he proposed to me.

Landon came running out of the kitchen door as soon as he had spied Edward and I walking up to the house. He jumped up into Edward's arms and squealed, sounding like a baby pig as Edward tickled him.

Once Edward stopped tickling him and he caught his breath, Landon asked, "Tomorrow you'll be my uncle right?"

"Well that depends. Do you still want me to?" Edward asked, teasing him as he winked at me.

"Unh huh," Landon said as he nodded his head furiously.

"You're still ready to be my special helper tomorrow right?" Edward asked Landon.

I loved watching him with my nephew. Both their faces were lit up with their smiles and it was easy to see that the adoration was felt by both of them. Edward was wonderful with him and I couldn't wait for us to have a child of our own. He was going to be an amazing father.

"Yup. I get to hold the rings so you don't lose them."

"That's right. And it's very important because without the rings Aunt Bella and I can't get married."

"I promise I won't lose them," Landon said with such a serious look on his face. It was so cute. Edward set him down and he grabbed Edward's hand and pulled him into the house.

"Good afternoon, my dears," Nana said as she looked up from where she was standing at the kitchen island kneading dough for homemade bread. Our mothers and Nana had planned a feast for the rehearsal dinner tonight and the wedding tomorrow.

"Hi, Nana," I said to her as I walked over and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Where's everyone at?" Edward asked while watching Landon roll around a ball of dough Nana had given him.

"They went into town. Landon wanted to stay and help me make bread. Although I think he just wanted to play in the flour," Nana said while smiling and not missing a beat in her bread making. I suspected she could do it with her eyes closed.

When she stopped rolling the dough, she separated it into two pieces and then placed them in separate bowls and covered them so they could rise.

"I have something I want to give to the two of you." She moved to the sink to wash her hands and then left the room, reappearing a few minutes later with a small wooden box in her hand that must have been about the size of a small cigar box. She sat down at the table and motioned for the two of us to join her.

"What's that?" I asked her as Edward and I sat down.

Nana opened the box and pulled out a small black pouch and a garter.

I knew instantly that it must have been the garter she wore when she married my grandfather. There was a tremendous about of emotion coming from her. Love, happiness and a bit of sadness I was sure was caused by her memories of my grandfather. I knew she still missed him terribly.

"This was my garter when I married your grandfather," she began as she reached over to hold my hand between hers. "My grandmother handmade it for me and your mother wore it as well. So I wanted to give you the opportunity to wear it if you wanted to. But I don't want you to feel obligated, I know things have changed a lot since either your mother or I wore it. I promise my feelings won't be hurt if you have already purchased something else."

"Oh, Nana," I said softly as I got up to hug her. "Don't you see it doesn't matter that I might already have something else? I would be honored to wear your garter. No other garter would mean nearly as much as this one would," I said as I stood while I gazed into her now tear filled eyes. I picked up the garter from the table and looked more closely at it. It wasn't like the ones you see brides wear nowadays that were held up by elastic and slipped onto your leg. This one you slipped it up your leg, but it was then tied and held in place by the green satin ribbons woven through the white crocheted lace. It was beautiful. "You don't have any objections do you?" I asked Edward as I glanced over at him and saw a soft loving smile gracing his handsome face. I didn't think he would but it was his wedding too, so I thought it only fair.

"No of course not. Although I am curious about the color. Did you and Renee both have green as a color scheme in your weddings," he asked Nana as his gaze turned from me to her awaiting her answer. I was curious about the color myself.

Nana laughed and had an instant sparkle in her eyes that made me wonder what she knew that we didn't. "Oh my dear children," she said. "Green is the color that represents fertility. So it is worn as a symbol of good luck and to enhance the chances of being blessed with many children. It is also tradition for the bride to wear it the night before the wedding for the same reason." She took my hand in hers again and patted it gently before grinning at me and saying, "I suspect your mother has something for you to wear this evening at the rehearsal dinner that is green as well."

"You would think given the fact she's already got two grandchildren she wouldn't be in such a rush for more."

Edward let out a half snort-laugh sound and Nana turned to him and added, "It's more than just the color. The tying of the ribbons also signifies the coming together of the man and woman who are getting married. And don't you think you are immune, my dear boy," Nana scolded Edward playfully. "I think your mother is in cahoots with Bella's, so I wouldn't be surprised to find you wearing green in some way also."

Edward's face lit up as a huge smirk spread on it. "I am sure you and our parents will be happy to know that Bella and I have decided to start trying right away. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and make a honeymoon baby." He winked at me and his eyes sparkled with joy as he told Nana of our plans. The wave of joy I felt radiating from Nana was tremendous and I knew she was just as excited as he was.

"See what did I tell you when you were here last summer and you scoffed at the idea of marriage and babies?" Nana asked teasing me.

"I know, I know," I said through a burst of giggles knowing she had been so right. I should have known better than to ever doubt her.

"What am I missing here?" Edward asked.

"I told her all it takes is the love of a good man, the right man, to make you want all the things you never allowed yourself to imagine before," Nana said teasing me.

"And you doubted her?" Edward asked pretending to be shocked I would even consider it.

"Yeah well I found the right man and I came to my senses. Surely that counts for something."

They both nodded. Edward and I started to get up so we could set up the patio for tonight when Nana stopped us. "Before you two run off to start setting up for tonight, I have something for you too, Edward." She picked up the small black pouch and opened it. A small rock of some sort tumbled out into her hand as she turned the pouch upside down.

"A rock?" I asked confused.

"Not just any rock, Isabella," she admonished me. "This is a piece of iron. All Italian men carry it with them in their pockets on their wedding day to ward off evil spirits and to bring good luck. This same piece of iron has been passed down through many generations of my family. I've been told its shape has changed a little over the years from wear, even if it has always looked the same to me. But it has brought good luck to all those who have carried it with them, as all of us have had happy long marriages." She paused for a minute and took a deep breath before a soft smile played on her lips again. I couldn't imagine what the last four years had been like for her without my grandfather and I didn't ever want to have to think about the possibility of having to live without Edward. He was my heart and without him I wouldn't feel whole.

She took Edward's hand in hers and placed the rock in it. Nana then closed his hand around it and clasped his between both of hers. "With or without it I believe you and Bella will have the same happiness. You look at her like I remember seeing her grandfather looking at me and my father looking at my mother as well as how her father does with Renee. My mother always told me she believed that Bella's grandfather and I were true soul mates and I believe the same of the two of you. You were meant for each other and would have found your way to one another some other way had it not been here on this island. Although I also believe that you two finding each other when you did was also meant to be since Bella needed you more than she could have ever imagined then. Anyways, it doesn't matter now. You are together and that is all that matters. You don't have to, but I thought perhaps you would like a symbol of good luck of your own to carry with you."

Nana didn't say anything else. There was no pressure at all from her for Edward to take the piece of iron. However I knew he would. If for no other reason he would do it because he loved and respected my grandmother and would do it simply to please her even if he didn't believe in its good luck magic.

Without even a moment's hesitation, Edward leaned over and placed a kiss on Nana's cheek. "I would love to," he said to her.

She grabbed his face and kissed both his cheeks and thanked him for making me so happy. It was truly a special moment for me to see them, two of the most important people in my life, showing each other their love. Nana adored Edward and the feeling was mutual. I didn't have to be able to feel her emotions to know it. It was clear in the way she was with him. Of course she always had been, even when I had been having doubts.

As if someone had flipped a switch though, Nana got up and with both her hands flaying around she playfully ordered us, "Ok, enough of this wishy-washy stuff. There's work to do, get busy."

Edward and I both laughed as we got up and set about helping her to prepare for the evening ahead of us. Alice, Jasper, Emmett and Rose showed up a few minutes later and the work went quickly.

True to Nana's warnings, our parents returned shortly after we had finished setting up and both Edward and my parents had indeed brought green clothing for us to wear for the rehearsal dinner. Edward's was simply a green polo shirt for him to wear. However Alice had apparently been helping both our mothers search online at all the local dress shops for the perfect dress for me to wear and that was the reason for their sudden trip into town. My mom had been in touch with Edward's about some of the Italian customs and they had brought Edward's shirt ahead of time but hadn't found anything they liked back home for me. They claimed that with it being much warmer here this time of year than it was back in Seattle, had hampered their search so they had chosen to wait until arriving here in Capri.

I couldn't complain though. I loved the dress they had picked out for me. It was a lime green halter-neck maxi dress with a large fuchsia pink tropical floral print on it. The soft billowy fabric of the dress appeared to wrap around me like a sarong and came together in the front with a twist just above my breasts and then came up around my neck to tie and form the halter top. It was something I could easily see myself wearing again while Edward and I were on our honeymoon.

Once us kids, as my and Edward's parents, grandparents and Nana were calling us, were sure that everything was set up on the patio and Nana and our moms didn't need any help in the kitchen, us kids left to head back up to the other house to get ready for the evening.

A few hours later, the rehearsal had gone off without a hitch and it made me even more anxious for tomorrow to hurry up and get here. The evening had been tremendously fun, especially when Nana's dear friend Irina teased Edward about stealing me away from her son Lucca. It was really quite cute to watch her get him all frustrated as she tried to tell him Lucca would be better suited for me since he was a pure blooded Italian man. But in the end she confessed to just teasing him and told him it was clear that I only had eyes for him and no other man in the world even existed to me. She was right too.

It had been a long day and I was physically tired as well mentally worn out from the overwhelming amount of emotions flowing from everyone. Slipping my sandals off, I headed down the path to the beach for a few minutes of quiet.

I walked through the water lapping the sand until I came to the spot next to a few sand dunes where I had first spotted Edward.

I hadn't been sitting there long watching the waves roll in and out in the moonlight when I heard a velvety enchanting voice whisper next to my ear, "It's a beautiful night isn't it?"

Without even having to look I knew Edward had found me. If him repeating the first words he had ever said to me weren't enough, the pull to him I always felt when he was near would have told me.

"It is," I replied softly.

"What's a beautiful girl like you doing on the beach all alone on a night like this?" I could hear the smile in his voice at how cliché his words were.

"Thinking about the man of my dreams." I kept my gaze focused on the moon hovering over the water as I played along with him.

"He's a lucky man to have someone as beautiful as you. It seems rather careless that he's left you here all by yourself. Any chance I could steal you away from him?" I could hear the laughter in his voice threatening to break through and it caused me to smile.

"No. I'm afraid you're too late. Ya see, I'm marrying him tomorrow and only death itself could stop me," I said as I finally turned to look at him.

Edward reached out and pulled me down in the sand. Rolling partially on top of me he lowers his face and brushes his nose along side of mine. His face remained hovering so close that our lips were nearly touching. I wanted him to kiss me so badly. It felt as though it had been so long since his lips had touched mine when in reality it had only been maybe a little more than an hour. I could feel his breath on my face and any movement at all even just the tiniest would cause them to touch. We stayed like that, staring into each other's eyes—souls—breathing in the same air until it was as if the need to touch each other overcame us causing our mouths to collide in a searing kiss.

We kissed until we had to break apart for air. Panting and trying to catch our breath, Edward managed to say, "That's what I wanted to do the first night I saw you." Rolling us over so that I was now lying on top of him, he reached up and brushed my hair back from my face. "When I saw you sitting here on the beach, you looked like some sort of sea goddess the way your skin glowed in the moonlight. You were then and are now so incredibly gorgeous." He paused for a moment and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. As a gust of air came in off the ocean and caught my hair blowing it out like a flag in the wind, Edward raised his hand and ran his fingers through it. "I remember seeing your hair flowing in the breeze that night too and I wanted to reach out and touch it like I am now. And I remember when you got up to walk away how I felt this tremendous pull to not let you leave yet. Even then I had the overwhelming urge to hold on to you and never let you go."

Cupping his face in my hands, I rubbed my thumbs along his cheeks through the light layer of scruff he had. I loved him with a couple days worth of stubble and he knew it and had only shaved smooth recently when he had to meet with a client. "I felt it too you know," I whispered still brushing my thumb along his jaw. "I had been watching you as you came down the beach during the sunset. I remember seeing the way the sun set the colors of your hair ablaze. And as you got closer how your muscles moved. I was mesmerized by you and I think my heart belonged to you that instant. I felt some sort of a connection to you then and I couldn't explain it and when I couldn't get a read on your emotions at all it scared the shit out of me. It's funny though." I smiled down at him knowing the next part would surely get a chuckle out of him. "When I heard you talk I thought your voice was enchanting. It captivated me and called out to me. But I was certain that you must have been talking to someone else, that they must have been about to join you. I didn't think there was any way you were talking to me. So that's when I started to leave. I didn't want you to bust me drooling over you."

Just as I thought, he let out a soft chuckle and tickled me as he said, "I knew you were watching me. You weren't as slick as you thought you were."

"Really? You knew?"

"I did." He smiled that sexy lopsided grin of his and kissed my nose. "I was watching you watch me. And when I introduced myself to you, I held my hand out to you hoping you'd accept the gesture and shake hands with me because I was dying to touch you."

"You were?"

"Mm hmm."

He kissed me again, sending a wave of desire shooting through me much like his touch had that night. The spark was there again; the one that ignited every time we kissed. Somehow here tonight it felt even more powerful than it ever had before. Maybe it was because of where we were, lying on the beach—the place where we had met. Or maybe it was because we were about to become husband and wife in less than twenty-four hours. Maybe it was just because our love seemed to grow stronger all the time. All I knew was that I would never grow tired of feeling it.

When the kiss ended I said to him, "I guess you could say we've come full circle."

"Maybe," he said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well when you think of something having come full circle it's as if it had a beginning and an end. But if you truly think about a circle it has no beginning and no end. It goes on and on. You can keep going round and round forever and that's how I choose to view our love—our journey. I agree with Nana when she says that we were meant for each other and that we would have found each other someway if not here. And it's because I believe that, that I believe the circle of our love will go on, never ending. Forever."

I was now crying, unable to stop the tears that traveled freely down my face. "I love you so much, Edward Cullen and I can't wait to become your wife tomorrow and be tied to you in every way humanly possible."

Hearing the tears in my voice before he felt them drip from me onto him, Edward whispered as he brushed them from my face, "Please tell me those are happy tears."

"They are. I promise they are. You have made me the happiest woman in the world."

"That's all I ever want to do," he said softly as he gently pulled my head to his and kissed me again.

Our private moment came to a screeching halt when we heard Emmett and Jasper hollering down the beach somewhere near where the path was. "Time to put your clothes back on, we're here to collect the groom and guard him from escape until the wedding tomorrow."

I rolled off of Edward. He got up and then helped me up as we both laughed while brushing the sand from our clothes and each other's backs. Looking down the beach I could see Emmett, Jasper, and my brother coming towards us.

Edward took my hand in his as we headed in their direction. Once we reached them, Alec said, "Sorry our mothers sent us to find the two of you, with orders to escort you back to the house so we could take Edward with us until tomorrow."

Squeezing my hand just a little tighter, we both nodded and made our back to the path with the others right behind us.

Back at the house the other men went to say goodnight to their wives as Edward and I said ours.

"I'll see you in the morning, Sweetness. I love you."

"I love you too."

We kissed and then held each other for a few minutes, knowing that neither one of us wanted to sleep alone tonight, but also eager for tomorrow to come.

After our goodbyes, all of us women stood on Nana's front porch and waved goodbye as the men all piled into one of the rental cars and headed up to the other house. Once the men were out of sight, Alice and Rose each took one of my hands and pulled me back into the house. They tugged me through the hall and up the steps for some girl bonding time as they called it.

The second we entered my room at Nana's they tossed me a green satin men's pajama shirt.

"What's this?" I asked.

Alice was bouncing like a pinball stuck between the flipper and the wall of the machine as she rambled off the words. It was a miracle she wasn't giving herself whiplash. "Well your mom and Nana told us how green was for good luck for the happy couple and for fertility so we got a pair of men's pajamas for you and Edward to share. The guys are giving him the bottoms."

"You know, Carlisle and Esme are quite excited for grandchildren," Rose added.

"Yes I'm sure they are. But why are they pushing for Edward and me to be the ones to do it first. For Pete's sake we aren't even married yet. Alice and Jasper have been married almost a year."

"Oh believe me. They've made their wishes very well known," Alice declared.

"Good, the pressure won't be all on Edward and me." I giggled.

We spent the next hour or so chatting and painting each other's toenails. According to Alice and Rose it was critical since we would all be barefoot for the wedding.

By the time I crawled into bed I was exhausted. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand I saw it was nearly midnight. In just barely more than twelve hours I would be married. It couldn't come fast enough for me. After sending Edward a quick text telling him I loved him, I closed my eyes, hoping I'd be able to sleep.

_**April 10, 2011**_

"Oh, Nana, it turned out beautifully," I murmured softly as I fought the urge to cry.

I had just slipped on my wedding dress. It had been Nana's wedding dress and my mother had worn it as well. However I had thought it was a bit dated when she'd first showen it to me, so she'd had her friend Irina who was a seamstress make some alterations to the dress for me. And it turned out perfectly. I was a little smaller than my mother and Nana so the dress had to be taken in a bit. The dress had once been a floor length, long sleeved satin gown with a high modest neckline, covered with a beaded lace overlay. Now the satin base gown was knee length and the neck line was strapless and snug fitting. The lace overlay had a hi-low hem so that it was about mid calf length in the front and just barely touched my heel in the back. Some of the beads had fallen off over the years so Nana had, had Irina replace them with pearls and crystals. The dress was beautiful and absolutely perfect for our beach wedding. It had the feel of a traditional wedding gown, but the style was so fitting for what we wanted.

"Oh, my bambina, you are what's beautiful, the dress simply compliments you," Nana cried as she pulled me to her for a hug.

"I love you, Nana, and I am so honored to be wearing your dress."

Grabbing my face and kissing both my cheeks and then my forehead, Nana smiled and then said, "Ti amo così tanto la mia ragazza prezioso. Now enough with the tears, this is your day. I want to see nothing but smiles from you."

"Ok," I whispered and hugged her again.

"What did she say?" Alice asked. "It was beautiful."

"Um, if I remember correctly, she said I love you so very much, my precious girl. She taught me several things when I was younger, but when you don't use it you lose it."

"It's such a pretty language," Rose added.

"It is. I could have taken it in college but Spanish was more practical for my degree."

Our chat was interrupted by the door opening.

"Oh, Bella," my mother gasped as she came in with Esme.

They had gone up to the other house to visit the men and to deliver Edward's wedding gift from me. I had gotten him a watch with the inscription _All my love, forever. Sweetness._

Both women made their way across the room to me and spun me to look at me in my dress.

"You look amazing, dear," Esme said.

"Thank you. How's Edward?"

"Well, he'd be even more handsome than he is if he'd quit tugging on his hair." We all giggled at her comment. "Otherwise he is fine and anxious to marry you."

A chorus of aww's echoed from Rose and Alice.

"Speaking of my son, he sent this for you," Esme said as she handed me the silver gift bag she had been holding.

I took out the card and read it first.

_Sweetness, _

_There are two parts to this gift. The first part is all I think you need to bring for our honeymoon. The second part is in the bottom of the bag and is for today. I love you more than I could ever say with words. It's almost time now and I can't wait for you to be my wife._

_All my love forever,_

_Edward_

"Wait," Alice said just as I was about to pull my gift out of the bag. "Isn't that what you had engraved on the back of his watch. The phrase 'all my love forever'?"

"It is." I smiled at her.

"Did he know?"

"Nope," I replied popping the "p" as I did. "You know how he always sends me flowers with notes about their meaning and so on?"

"Yes," Alice answered, but all the other women were listening just as intently to hear my answer.

"Well after he proposed that is how he ended each one of the notes he wrote. That's why I chose to have that phrase put on his watch, because it's like our thing."

"Ohhh that's so sweet," they all sang at the same time.

"He's so romantic. I need to have him talk to Emmett," Rose said.

I stuck my hand back in the bag and was surprised to find what felt like clothing. When I pulled it out I had a mess of bikinis in my hand. Each one a different color and it appeared one for each day of our honeymoon.

"Bow chick a wow wow!" Rose exclaimed with a snicker.

I could feel the heat rise to my face as I turned red.

"Well I guess he plans to keep her in a bikini the whole time," Alice said through her giggles.

"What's the other gift? Didn't he say there were two parts to the gift?" my mother asked.

I pulled the small box out of the bottom of the bag. It was white with a green ribbon tied around it. I looked up at my mother and Nana when I noticed the color of the ribbon. Nana winked at me which told me she had played some part in helping Edward pick out the gift.

When I opened the box I found another small note.

_Bella,_

_Green isn't just a color of good luck for the Italians. It is one for the Irish as well, and as you know I have a bit of Irish blood in my veins. So I thought combining the two would certainly bring us all the luck we would ever need. Not only are the emeralds in these earrings green, but they are also in the shape of a four leafed clover, which is another Irish symbol of good luck. _

_All my love forever,_

_Edward_

I looked over at Nana and asked, "So he knew yesterday? When he asked about the ribbons in the garter, he knew?"

"He did. He found out when I told him that it was bad luck for you to wear gold on your wedding day before your ring was placed on your finger, so if he got you jewelry it had to be made of something other than that. At the same time I told him about the belief behind the customs surrounding the color green. I am sure you must know he only wanted to surprise you."

"I do."

All the women laughed at my response.

"Let's finish up here so that you can get downstairs and say those words officially," my mother said.

I put the earrings in and then slipped on the garter Nana had lent me. After that I ran a comb through my hair on last time and applied a light coat of clear lip gloss.

Rose and Alice had gone down to their rooms to put their dresses on real quick. We had picked out simple strapless dresses with an asymmetrical hemline and a sash that tied loosely around the hips. I had selected a medium pink color to go with the pink stargazer lilies I had chosen as the main flower in my wedding bouquet. It was one of my favorite flowers. Both Alice and Rose had loved the dresses when we picked them out and were thrilled that they'd actually be able to wear them again.

"I think I'm ready," I said as Alice and Rose returned. Both of them looked amazing.

We made our way downstairs where we found my father pacing back and forth across the living room floor. He looked very handsome in his khaki pants and white button down shirt.

My mom, Nana and Esme kissed me on the cheek and told me they loved me as they left to go down to the beach and take their seats for the wedding while Alice and Rose hugged me and went to take their places to walk ahead of me down the path.

"Hi, Daddy."

"Hi, baby girl. You look beautiful," he said as he pulled me in for a hug and kissed the top of my head.

"You look good too."

"Well this getup sure beats a monkey suit any day of the week," he said causing me to laugh at his remark. Edward had been grateful he wouldn't have to wear a tux too. Although I knew he would have, had I wanted to have a formal wedding. "You ready for this?" my dad asked.

"I don't think I've ever been more ready for anything in my life, Daddy."

"Good, 'cause you know I can get you out of here fast if you aren't sure."

"Stop it. I'm ready for this and you know it," I told him, smacking him playfully on the chest.

"I know you are. And Edward is a good man."

"The best."

"Wait, I thought I was the best," he teased.

"Ok. The best besides you, Dad."

Before we could continue our playful bantering, Alice came in and told us it was time and handed me my bouquet of flowers.

There was no music, just the sounds of the wind and the ocean as my father and I followed Alice and Rose down the path to the beach. As we came to the end of the path, I was thrilled with the sight before me. I had helped pick out the decorations and had an idea of how it would all be set up, but I hadn't seen it all put together.

Our guests were all sitting in white chairs with white covers on them accented by the large pink sashes tied around the chair backs that matched the girls' dresses and our flowers. Behind the back row of chairs there were two tall white plant stands with baskets of white roses with pink ribbons tied to them. At the front was a large arbor that was filled with stargazer lilies and on each side of it was another planter like the ones in the back as well as three more filled with pink roses. To top it all off, the sun was shining brightly and there was a light breeze blowing.

It was gorgeous. However none of it came close to comparing to the sight of Edward standing next to the arbor waiting for me. He looked amazing as he stood there. I don't know how he could make khakis and a white dress shirt look as sexy as a tux, but he did it with ease.

The second he saw me his face lit up with a smile bigger than any I had ever seen before. And once our eyes connected it was as if nothing else around us existed. I wanted to let go of my dad's arm and run the rest of the way to Edward.

When we reached Edward, my dad kissed me and told me he loved me before placing my hand in Edward's. He then told Edward, "You make sure she's always happy and we'll never have any problems."

"It's all I ever want to do, sir," Edward replied.

They shook hands and then my father took his seat next to my mother in the front row, while Edward and I turned and took the last few steps to stand in front of the official performing our ceremony for us.

The official welcomed everyone in joining us today for our celebration and then gave Edward and me the opportunity to say our vows. I handed my flowers to Rose as Edward and I turned to face each other and hold hands.

Edward began first. "Many people spend their lives searching for their soul mate, their one true love. Some people are lucky to find the person they can truly call the better half of themselves, while others spend the rest of their lives searching and never finding. I am happy to count myself among the lucky ones because I have certainly found my other half in you.

"I love you, Bella. I know that you are the only one for me, my one true love. I am happy and I am grateful that you came into my life. Now that I have found you, I promise to never let you go. I promise to stand by your side through good and bad, through sickness and health, for forever regardless of what life brings to us. I take you now as my wife and I pledge my heart to you for the rest of my life."

It was difficult to do, but somehow I was able to focus on just Edward and me as I relished in the once in a lifetime moment we were sharing. Because that was exactly what it was. There would never be another for either one of us. His words told me how loved and cherished I was, but it was the overwhelming emotion that I saw in his eyes and heard in his voice that made me feel those words.

"Edward, when I met you I didn't think I'd ever find that one special person who would accept me as I am, making me feel whole and special and so loved and cherished as you have. You have brought to my life more love and happiness than I ever thought possible. You are my other half, my soul mate, the one who completes me.

"I love you, Edward. I know that you are the only one for me, my one true love. I am happy and I am grateful that you came into my life. Now that I have found you, I promise to never let you go. I promise to stand by your side through good and bad, through sickness and health, for forever regardless of what life brings to us. I take you now as my husband and I pledge my heart to you for the rest of my life."

The official then asked for the rings and Landon was so adorable with his ear-splitting grin as he handed the rings to the official.

Edward and I exchanged rings and were announced as husband and wife.

Once Edward was told he could kiss the bride, he didn't waste any time before scooping me up in his arms and whispering, "I love you, Isabella Cullen," just before his lips met mine.

Our kiss was far from chaste and continued until we heard Jasper say, "Let her come up for air, Man."

Edward pulled away, but then threw me up over his shoulder and ran up the path to the house before anyone could stop him.

"Edward," I squealed. "Put me down." He didn't listen and when I heard everyone behind us clapping along with a few loud whistles, no doubt coming from Emmett, there was nothing else I could do other than laugh and hang on.

"I missed you last night, Sweetness," Edward said as we reached the doors to the house. Once inside his lips were once again attached to mine and remained there until the official and Rose and Jasper arrived for us to sign the marriage license.

Once we had signed it and Rose and Jasper had as our witnesses, we all made our way out to the garden and patio for the reception.

The area was decorated in much the same way as the beach had been for our ceremony. In addition to the flower stands placed everywhere, the tables were covered in all white with a large hurricane style candle as the centerpiece with pink rose petals, sand and starfish in the glass holder to accent it.

The afternoon had passed quickly and soon the sun was setting. We had gone through all the traditions of cutting the cake and the tossing of the garter and bouquets, although the small bride and groom cake at the top was all that had to be cut. We had opted for a cupcake tree from the bakery we went to in New York City instead of a traditional wedding cake.

After Edward and I danced to the last slow dance, we said our goodbyes to everyone and left for the hotel Edward had booked for our honeymoon. We were staying on Capri for a few days and then we were going to visit a few other places on the mainland before heading home to Seattle.

We were staying at the Capri Palace Hotel and Spa. When we reached our room, Edward scooped me up into his arms and carried me through the door.

"Welcome to our honeymoon, Mrs. Cullen," Edward said after kissing me and setting me down.

"Welcome to you too, my husband."

I looked around taking in the details of our spectacular room. It was a double room suite with vaulted ceilings, a huge canopy bed and ecru colored furnishings with Mediterranean styled architecture. We also had our own private patio and pool.

"Would you like a glass of champagne, Mrs. Cullen?" Edward asked as he trailed soft kisses across my shoulder and up my neck.

"Um...no. How about a bottle of water?"

He got the water from the mini fridge in the room and then pulled me over to the bed. "Your water, my lady. I'm sorry I forgot champagne gives you a headache the next day. Did you drink any earlier?"

"No. But…um that's not why."

"You ok, Sweetness?" he asked when he noticed me chewing nervously on my lip. I just hoped that what I was about to tell him didn't upset him. Actually it wasn't what I was going to tell him, it was the fact that I'd kept it from him for a whole week.

I got up and went to my overnight bag and took out a rolled up piece of paper with a green ribbon tied around it. Sitting back down on the bed next to Edward, I handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"It's the second part of your wedding gift and also the reason why I'm not drinking any champagne."

He looked completely confused as he removed the ribbon and unrolled the paper. But the instant he read what was on the paper a huge smile spread across his face, lighting it up like the brightest star in the night sky.

"For real?" he asked, his voice thick and choked up.

"Yes."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day we got here. I had a doctor's appointment that day while you were still at work."

"Does anyone else know?"

"No. And I only kept it from you so I could surprise you today."

"It's the best gift ever, Sweetness. Other than your love there is nothing better you could have given me."

He leaned over and kissed me softly. I knew he'd be thrilled about the pregnancy, and now I was relieved and thrilled that he was happy with the way I had chosen to tell him about it.

Placing one more kiss on my lips, Edward then asked, "But how? When? I thought we had been careful."

"I think you know how. And we were careful. All accept that one night."

He pulled me into his arms and down on the bed with him. Hovering over me, he said, "Our engagement party."

"Yup."

"The couch."

"That, the shower and the bed," I replied.

"Well, no wonder I knocked you up that night. You couldn't keep your hands off of me."

"The way I remember it, Mister, the feeling had been quite mutual and returned with much vigor."

"You're carrying my baby," he said with tears pooling in his eyes. "I can't begin to tell you what that means to me, Bella. I know we wanted to try right away, starting tonight, but this…" he placed his hand over my abdomen and kissed me hard pouring all of his emotion into it. "Like I said a minute ago, this is the best gift you could have ever given me. I love you so fucking much."

"I love you too." I didn't think there had ever been a moment in my life when I had been happier. It was almost too much to handle. Taking a few deep breaths, I was able to somewhat calm myself and enjoy the fact that right now everything in my world was absolutely perfect.

We began kissing again and soon things became extremely heated between us. Edward pulled away and stood, telling me to stay put as he removed all his clothes. Watching him stand before me and undress was the sexiest thing I had ever seen.

He crawled back onto the bed next to me and whispered in my ear, "I wanna make love to you all night long, Sweetness." His lips had brushed the outer shell on my ear with each word he had spoken, causing me to tremble.

"Make love to me, Edward. As my husband, the man I love more than life itself and the father of our child. Make love to me."

He rolled me over and unzipped my dress and trailed kisses down my spine and let out a loud hiss when he saw the dark blue lace panties and bra I was wearing.

"Dare I say, my love, that you look just as delicious in this blue as you do in red."

However despite his words he wasted no time in removing them from my body. Lying next to me he pulled me to him. He wrapped one arm around me holding me to him and fisted the other hand in my hair as he buried his face in it.

"Your hair is always so soft and silky. I love the way it smells. The way you smell." Rolling me over on top of him, he said, "I love it when you're on top making love to me and it falls like a drape all around us and all I can see is you and all I can breathe in is your scent."

I started to close my eyes as the feelings of our passion began to take over. "Keep your eyes open, Sweetness." I immediately complied. "I want to see your face and look in your eyes as we make love for the first time as husband and wife."

I kept my eyes open as he tugged gently on my hair and tipped my head back exposing my neck so he could rub his nose along it before he began sucking and kissing on it. He sucked on my pulse point for a few minutes causing me to shiver and my heart to pound like thunder in my chest.

"You feel that?" he asked, placing his hand over my heart.

Unable to get the words out I nodded.

"It's mine. Your body, your soul and your heart are all mine, Bella."

"Forever," I told him.

"I love the way your heart flies from just the smallest touch from me. I love the way your body responds to me. It knows doesn't it? It knows your mine."

"Yes." I loved it when he told me I was his. It made me feel how just how much he loved me and how much he wanted me. It was the greatest feeling in the world.

"You're exquisite, Bella. You have never looked more beautiful than you did today. Than you do right now." His hands skimmed over my shoulders and down my back until they were resting on my hips.

Not wanting him to have all the fun, I ground myself against his erection and slid my hands up and grabbed handfuls of his hair. "Do you feel what you do to me?" I whispered into his ear. "I'm always so ready for you. I always want you."

A moan escaped his lips as I rocked my hips against him again. He reached down and pulled my legs up from between his until I was straddling his waist. He then grasped my hips and lifted me up until he was positioned at my entrance.

"Are you ready, Sweetness? Are you ready to go all night long?" he asked through panted breaths as he slid against my moist skin.

He held on to me as he slid me down over him until he was completely seated inside me.

"Mmm, so soft, so warm, so perfect," he murmured as we began to move together. "We _were_ made for each other, Sweetness. I love you."

"I love you too," I managed to get out before we were lost to the waves of passion that overtook us. I knew he wasn't joking when he said he planned to make love to me all night long, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Making love with my _husband _was a feeling like none other and I had the rest of my life to do so.

**I hope you guys loved it as much as I did. Just one more chapter and then the epilogue. I know many are you are sad to see TLA coming to an end and I can't tell you how great it makes me feel to know you still want more of these two. But I think they have earned their HEA. As always let me know what ya thought. **

**Until next time,**

**EA  
**


	31. With Arms Wide Open

**Hi everyone. Happy Easter to those of you who celebrate it and happy _Water for Elephants_ opening weekend to everyone else. Have you seen it? It's so amazing! Thank you to Hope4more and My-Bella for all their help. This is it, the last regular chapter of TLA. The epilogue will be up as soon as I can get it finished and I've already started on it. There are pictures on the blog to go with this chapter. Check them out.  
**

**Hope4more, I know I kept you waiting the whole story for this chapter. So I hope you love it!**

**Stephenie Meyer owns it all.  
**

_Well I just heard the news today  
It seems my life is going to change  
I close my eyes, begin to pray  
Then tears of joy stream down my face_

_With arms wide open_  
_Under the sunlight_  
_Welcome to this place_  
_I'll show you everything_  
_With arms wide open_  
_With arms wide open_

_Well I don't know if I'm ready_  
_To be the man I have to be_  
_I'll take a breath, I'll take her by my side_  
_We stand in awe, we've created life_

_**With Arms Wide Open, by Creed**_

**~*EPOV*~**

**_June 17, 2011_**

I sat at my desk completely mesmerized as I stared at the picture of my beautiful wife. It rested in its permanent place on the left corner of my desk and had been taken on our wedding day as she leaned against the wall of her Nana's garden in Capri. As always she was gorgeous. She had a huge smile on her face causing her to just glow and radiate happiness while her hair blew in the ocean breeze. Bella had been completely unaware my sister was snapping the picture of her and the beautiful ocean view behind her was nothing with her in front of it. The picture had become my favorite one of her and when I looked at it, it was hard not to get lost in the memories of that day. It had been two months but still felt like yesterday.

We'd had an unforgettable honeymoon. It was the most amazing time I'd ever had. Bella and I had spent a few days seeing the things we'd missed out on the last time we'd been in Capri and then enjoyed a few days in the cities of Rome and then Verona on the Italian mainland. We had such a wonderful time, not having a care in the world to worry about except what we chose to do each day. If we had wanted to stay in bed and make love all day or rise with the sun and spend the day sightseeing, it was ok because we had no one to answer to but each other. We had enjoyed ourselves so much neither one of us had wanted to come home.

At the end of our two week honeymoon we had spent two days with Nana and had given her the good news that she would be a great-grandmother again before the end of the year. Needless to say she had been ecstatic beyond words and was already planning her trip here so she could arrive just before Bella's due date of December third.

Bella was now sixteen weeks pregnant and was already having to buy new clothes due to her bulging baby bump. She wasn't huge by any means, but her once very flat and firm stomach was now a round swelling mound. It seemed like she was showing sooner than expected, but both our mothers and her sister-in-law told her it was probably just from how she was going to carry the baby. That some women got wider, some grew outwards faster and others took forever for you to even be able to tell that they were pregnant. And despite having to buy new clothes, that my sister and Rose were only too happy to help her shop for, Bella loved her growing midsection and so did I. In fact I had a hard time keeping my hands off of Bella's baby bump and nearly every morning when we woke, one of my hands always seemed to be resting there as if it were held by some sort of invisible magnetic force. More often than not Bella's hand was there too and it had been a morning just like that when we had the joy of feeling our son or daughter move for the first time. It was an experience that neither of us would ever forget.

Of course that wasn't the only part of her I couldn't keep my hands off. Her whole body was changing, everything from her breasts being fuller, rounder and heavier to the more pronounced glow to her skin and the shinier, silkier texture of her hair. I hadn't thought her hair could be any shinier or softer but it was which just made me want to run my fingers through it even more than I normally would.

There were also some not so pleasant changes. For instance she was tired a lot more and became worn out much faster than before. She had also had a horrible time with morning sickness, sometimes throwing up all day long. Thankfully the worst of the morning sickness had seemed to pass within the last couple of weeks and she only suffered with some nausea occasionally in the mornings.

This morning had been one of those rough mornings for Bella. I had tried to get her to stay home but she refused. She had recently begun working on her first big case since the whole fiasco with Black and Reynolds and had to be at the prison to try and finagle a confession out of the suspect. Between her nausea and her nerves over having to return to the prison for the first time, she hadn't eaten any breakfast and I was concerned even though she promised me she'd make up for it at lunch time. She had even suggested we have lunch together to ease my worries, but that wouldn't happen until I saw with my own eyes that she was feeling better and was adequately fed.

I spent the next couple of hours setting up a few appointments for new clients and finalizing the details of a new system install. I had just finished talking on the phone with my mom, finalizing our dinner plans for my birthday in three days, when my phone rang again the second I set it down.

"Hey, Emmett, what's up?" I asked, figuring he wanted to get together and watch the baseball game this weekend. It was a big interleague game between the Mariners and the Phillies.

"Edward, you need to get to Seattle Grace right away. _Now_." I could hear the sense of urgency in his voice and it scared the shit out of me.

"What happened to Bella, Emmett? Tell me now," I demanded into the phone as I grabbed my keys and got up to leave as fast as I could.

"Look I don't think it's serious, but she passed out and they took her over to the hospital. She was awake when they left, but they said they wouldn't know anything for sure until they did a complete exam. I think I heard them mention something about her blood sugar being too low."

"Fuck," I growled as my mind began to reel with all sorts of horrible images. "I'm on my way."

Hanging up the phone and shoving it into my pocket I raced down the stairs and hollered at Mike that I'd be gone the rest of the day and to pass it on to Jasper when he got in.

As I opened the door to the building I nearly barreled right into Jasper in my haste to get to Bella.

"Hey, hey, hold up there, cowboy. Where's the fire?" Jasper asked in a joking way, completely unaware of what was going on.

Not wanting to take the time to stop and explain it to him, I called out to him that Bella was in the hospital.

"Whoa. Wait up I'm going with you," he hollered back."Give me your keys. I'm driving."

I started to argue with him but he cut me off saying, "Dude, you are in no condition to drive. You look like you are about to freak the hell out and you won't be any good to Bella if you have an accident on the way."

I didn't like it but I knew he was right. Arguing with him would only waste time and I couldn't afford to do that right now. So I tossed the keys to him as I hurried around to the passenger side of the car.

I explained to him what was going on as we pulled out of the parking lot, which caused me to get even more upset. "Fuck! That's my wife and baby," I bellowed as I slammed my hand against the dash of my car. I was feeling similar to the way I had when Bella had been taken last July. Only this time it was so much worse because not only was it Bella, but it was also our baby. The thought of anything happening to either one of them hurt so deeply I found myself reaching up and rubbing my chest over my heart.

Glancing over at me while he drove, Jasper ordered, "Man, you need to calm down. You can't let Bella see you like this. You'll only upset her more if you do. That won't be good for her or the baby. She needs you to be strong for her, and we're almost there so pull your ass together."

A few minutes later we pulled up to the emergency entrance at Seattle Grace. Jasper let me out and went to park the car while I headed straight for the registration desk as soon as I was through the doors.

I had managed to calm down somewhat the rest of the way here. I had told myself repeatedly that Emmett had said she'd been awake when they brought her here and that, that had to be a good thing. I wasn't entirely calm, and wouldn't be until I saw her with my own eyes, but I at least felt like I could hold it together so that I didn't upset her more.

"Can I help you, sir?" the nurse sitting behind the desk asked.

"Yes, I need to find Bella Cullen. She was brought in a short time ago," I informed the nurse while running my hand through my hair and fighting the urge to pull on it as I tried to keep my cool and not panic.

"Um, I don't see a Bella Cullen registered in our system, sir."

"Shit," I muttered leaning against the counter and pinching the bridge of my nose. "Try Isabella Cullen."

"Oh yes. We have her listed as having arrived a few minutes ago."

"That's what I said. What room is she in?" I was trying not to be an ass to this nurse but worrying about Bella and our baby was causing my patience to wear very thin.

"Are you a family member?"

"Yes. I'm her husband."

"Follow me please," she instructed me in her snotty, nasally voice.

She led me down a short hall and after making the turn around the corner I saw Emmett standing there pacing the floor.

"Hey, man," Emmett said when he looked up and saw me walking towards him.

"How is she?" I asked him needing to know what was waiting for me on the other side of the door.

"I don't know anything more than I did when I called you. I ran to go out to the lobby real quick to take a call from Erikson and on my way back I saw a nurse coming out who told me to wait out here, that the doctors were seeing her now."

I moved to push the door to Bella's room open when I felt a hand on my arm and turned to see it was the nurse. "You can't just barge in there while the doctor is seeing her," she said in a stern voice.

"Like hell I can't. That's my wife and baby in there." I pulled my arm back from her and shoved the door open and entered the room.

"Mr. Cullen, you can—"

"It's alright, Claire. Son, come on in and have a seat," my father said as he lifted his hand and pointed to the chair sitting next to Bella's bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I…um…didn't realize this was your son, Dr. Cullen," the nurse muttered and waited to see if they needed her for anything else.

"Its fine, Claire," he told her and then turned his attention back to me, when she moved to leave the room. "Dr. Cooper was just about to go over a few things with Bella before he runs a few more tests." Then as if he knew what I was going to ask next my father said, "I was just on my way back up to my office from the cafeteria when I saw them bring Bella in. I came more for moral support than anything. Dr. Cooper is very good."

I nodded and sat down extremely relieved to find my father and Bella's obstetrician in the room with her and not some doctor we didn't know. And even if my father said he was here just for support, I knew he was also making sure Bella got the best care possible. The fact he thought Dr. Copper was very good helped to reassure me that she would get top notch care.

My eyes immediately moved to Bella. She forced a slight smile and held her hand out for me to take. Her face was pale and she looked exhausted, and I could see the fear in her eyes. Even though she was scared I could tell the second our hands touched that my touch and my being there soothed her. And I knew it did because I could see and feel her relax a bit as well as noticing some of the stress on her face fade. I also knew it helped her because it did the same for me.

"You ok, Sweetness?" I asked as I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it.

She nodded and pulled on my hand for me to get up and give her a hug. I held her tightly for a moment and then as I sat back down I asked, "Dad, Dr. Cooper, how is she? Are her and the baby ok?"

My dad spoke first. "Yes, son, I believe Bella and the baby are just fine. However you know that's not my area of medicine so I will let Dr. Cooper answer all your questions."

Dr. Cooper cleared his throat and began to talk. "Edward, I was just informing Bella that all her vital signs look good. I am concerned that because she didn't eat anything this morning her blood sugar dropped too low. That combined with the increase in blood volume a woman has when she is pregnant along with the nervousness she explained about her job today…well all of that combined was the cause of her fainting spell."

My dad's pager went off interrupting Dr. Cooper. "I have to go. Dr. Cooper, thank you," he said shaking the man's hand. "Edward, call your mother and me later," he then said as he leaned over and kissed the top of Bella's head. After saying good bye to us all, he excused himself and was out the door.

"So you don't think it's anything serious?" I asked.

"No. We drew some blood as soon as she arrived and the test showed her blood sugar level was low. We've hooked her up to IV's to pump her full of fluids and after I finish my exam we are going to give her something to eat and then check the levels again.

"I'm so sorry," Bella cried. "I should have eaten this morning."

Before I could say anything to soothe Bella, Dr. Cooper spoke up. "Bella, there is nothing for you to be sorry for. You told me you were nauseous and there is really very little you can do to stop that from happening. Besides that, to try and eat when you are feeling that way is next to impossible."

"I should have tried though," Bella added. It was very clear she was beating herself up over this.

"Shh, Bella, calm down, you heard what the doctor said. It wasn't your fault," I told her as I reached up and caressed her cheek in hopes of keeping her from getting herself all worked up. That wouldn't do her or the baby any good.

"Bella," Dr. Cooper said gaining both of our attention. "While it's not your fault, there are a few things I'd like for you to do to reduce the risk of a repeat occurrence."

"Sure, of course. Anything, just name it," Bella replied.

"The first thing I want you to do is if you are feeling nauseous in the morning I'd like for you to stay home until it passes and you are able to eat. Stay in bed if you can. It might even be helpful to place some saltine crackers or a small container of dry cereal on your bedside table. That way all you have to do is reach over and grab it. Once you feel like you are able, just a couple of crackers or a small handful of cereal should do the trick if you rest in bed and let the sick feeling pass.

"Now I do realize with job responsibilities staying home may not always be an option, so I would like for you to at least try and keep those mornings stress free and take things slow if you are unable to stay home. In fact I want for you to keep your stress levels down as much as possible. Maybe if you can't stay home you can adjust your sleep schedule to allow you to have extra time in the morning to stay in bed. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes," Bella answered but there something in the look on her face and in her eyes. Like she was unsure and worried. Dr. Cooper may see it as today's events wearing on her, but I knew Bella and I could see it was more than that. But now wasn't the time. Right now making sure she and our baby were ok was what was most important.

"Ok, not that we have that settled, while we wait for you lab results I want to do a physical examination," Dr. Copper stated as he wrote a few things down on Bella's chart.

I held Bella's hand and watched as the doctor instructed her to scoot down and lay flat on the bed. He lifted the hospital gown she was wearing until it was just below her breasts. I didn't really like the idea of another man's hands on my wife, but I had been to all of her appointments so far and was slowly getting used to the idea.

Dr. Cooper next felt around on Bella's abdomen and pressed gently as if he were feeling around our baby's tiny body. As I continued to watch I noticed the expression on the doc's face went from one of a man at ease doing his job to one that was sort of perplexed I guess you would say. I looked up at Bella and saw that she had seen it too; she just barely shrugged her shoulders telling me she didn't know what the look on his face was about either.

The doctor took a small tape measure out of his pocket to measure how much Bella had grown which would be an indicator as to how well our baby was growing. He scratched the back of his head and appeared to be deep in thought as he turned to face the counter behind him and write the number down in Bella's chart.

"Is everything ok?" Bella asked. I could tell that she was sensing something from the doctor. Whatever emotion it was he was experiencing it had her worried and confused.

Doctor Cooper turned to face us and replied, "I don't think there is anything wrong. I am just a little surprised at your measurement and by how rapidly you seem to be growing."

"What do you mean you're surprised?" I asked.

"What I mean is that Bella is measuring much larger than she should be for this stage in the pregnancy."

"Is that a bad thing?" Bella asked.

"I don't think so. There is usually a logical explanation for it. Before I make any guesses as to what that might be, let me ask you a couple of questions first, Bella."

"Um…ok," Bella answered a bit hesitantly in her worry. I kept her hand in mine and softly rubbed it with my other one in effort to try and soothe her.

"Are you certain about the date of your last period?"

"Yes it was February twenty-sixth. Why?" Bella's brow furrowed in confusion.

"And you were on the Depo-Provera shot before then right?"

"Yes. I received the last one in early December and would have been due for one in February, but since Edward and I decided we wanted to start trying to get pregnant as soon as we were married I didn't get the shot then."

"Did you use any protection once you quit getting the shot?"

"Yeah, we used condoms. Well, except for one time."

"And do you remember that date?" Dr. Copper asked next.

"March twelfth I think. It was the night of the engagement party Edward's parents had for us. We had both been a little tipsy and got carried away and forgot to use any protection that night," Bella said sounding a bit aggravated being asked questions I knew she had already given the answers to.

"Dr. Cooper," I said gaining his attention. Bella was getting really upset again and that worried me. Not to mention the fact I was certain he already knew all of the information he was asking for. "I don't mean to be rude, but didn't Bella already answer these questions when we came for her first appointment?"

"Yes, Edward, she did. One reason I am asking again is because I don't have her chart from my office with me. And second is because Bella's measurements are off. Even if I did have the information here with me, I would ask again just to be sure."

"So if Bella is certain of the dates she has given you, what does that have to do with her measurements?"

"There are a couple of possibilities. But I can't be sure of which one or if it is either of them until I do an ultrasound. So I am going to go now and put in the request for the machine to be brought down. Once we have the results of that, then we should know exactly why the measurements are off. In the meantime, try to relax. Neither of the reasons I am suspecting are a bad thing."

He then left to go make the arrangements for the ultrasound and a few minutes later a nurse came in with a tray of food for Bella. The nurse told her that Dr. Cooper would be performing the ultrasound as soon as she was done eating. She also told us that if Bella needed to use the restroom she would have to wait, that having a full bladder made the test easier to perform and claimed something about the full bladder pushing the baby into a better viewing position.

"Geez, I hope it doesn't take long," Bella groaned as she pushed the now mostly empty food tray away from her. "I feel like I am gonna burst from all the fluids they are pumping into me."

Bella was just about to ring for the nurse and beg to use the bathroom when there was a knock on the door to her room followed by it swinging open to reveal Dr. Cooper pushing in an ultrasound machine.

"Thank God," Bella said a little louder than I think she meant to.

"Is everything ok?" Dr. Cooper asked when he heard Bella's remark. Bella promptly turned various different shades of red upon realizing she had been heard.

Trying not to laugh at my wife's embarrassment, because she was damn cute when she was, I answered for her, "Yes." I couldn't stop the soft chuckle that escaped as I finished my answer. "I just think Bella is starting to feel a bit water logged and ready to explode."

"Well then let's get this done before she does," he said to me with a slight smile on his face and then turned to look at Bella and said, "Now, I know you are probably pretty uncomfortable having a full bladder combined with the pressure from the baby. The test is easier to do while you have a full bladder, however if it becomes too hard for you to wait or it becomes painful let me know."

"Ok," Bella said and nodded.

"Last thing before we get started," Dr. Cooper said," is that I need to apply some gel on your stomach for the transducer to move across it easily. It is supposed to be warmed, but sometimes if it's a new bottle it can be quite cold. So I wanted to warn you incase."

Bella nodded once again and he squirted the gel on her. It must have been warm since she didn't seem to react at all to it being on her. I glanced at Bella and saw her chewing nervously on her bottom lip. But I quickly turned my head in the direction of the machine's monitor as soon as I heard the familiar thump of our baby's heartbeat. We had heard it at each one of her previous doctor appointments and had become very attached to its sound and became more and more eager to hear it again at each of her visits.

The screen remained blank for a minute or two as the doctor moved the device back and forth over Bella's lower abdomen. Suddenly there was what appeared to be a large black and white egg with two yokes. But as he zoomed in on the picture it was very clear that was not a picture of an egg. Instead it was a fuzzy but undeniable image of two babies. _Oh my god, holy shit. Measuring big. Bella was measuring big and now there's—_

Unable to stop myself I instantly blurted out, "Um, doc? I'm no expert, but um, why does it look like there are two babies in there?"

"Two?" Bella screeched. "Edward, what are you talking about? Dr. Cooper, what is he talking about?"

The doctor moved the device around a bit more. He stopped over each of the two areas on the screen and then highlighted it and typed something on the keyboard. He then moved on and did the same with the next one.

"Edward and Bella," Dr. Cooper began. "The reason it appears to be two babies in there is because there are two babies in there." He froze the image on the screen and typed a few more things and then turned the monitor so that Bella and I could have a better view of it. With his finger he pointed out the two babies. "This is baby "A" and this is baby "B" as we'll call them for the duration of your pregnancy. It's what I suspected given how much bigger you are in relation to how far along you are. The other thought had been that you were further along than you thought, but even then you still would have been a bit ahead of schedule size wise."

"Twins?" I asked in somewhat of a shocked state.

"Yes. Congratulations you are having twins. And from what I can see right now they appear to be identical which means that it will be either two girls or two boys. Would you like to know which it is?" Dr. Cooper asked and then just smiled as he waited for our replay.

"Two babies," Bella whispered. "Edward we are having two babies." The look on her face was the perfect mix of shock and glee. I was sure she was feeling much the same as I was which was extremely surprised, but happy none the less. We had agreed from the beginning that we wanted more than one child, hell more than two. So the way I saw it was that we were just getting a bonus jump start on making that happen.

After Dr. Copper gave us a few minutes alone to digest the news we'd just received, he came back in and performed the rest of the ultrasound including telling us whether we were having boys or girls. Once the ultrasound was complete the doctor went over a few things with Bella and me. He informed us that since we were now expecting twins, it put Bella's pregnancy into the high risk category. He said he didn't want to scare us, that most women who are expecting twins did so with very little complications. But carrying twins did come with some added risks. Such as premature labor and the possibility of the babies having a low birth weight, which in itself could cause other complications. He also reiterated what he had said earlier about Bella needing to keep her stress levels down and adding that stress was a major risk factor in causing premature labor.

Once we left the hospital Bella and I took the rest of the day to become accustomed to the idea that we were having twins. We filled everyone in on what had caused Bella to faint, which had been just as the doctor suspected, low blood sugar and the anxiety over her returning to the prison that morning. However we kept the news about the babies to ourselves for now. We decided we'd tell them Monday night when we went out to dinner for my birthday.

Over the course of the next several days everything seemed to be going well. Bella was feeling good and both our families had been thrilled with the news we were having twins. It was the Friday before the fourth of July and I was on my way home, looking forward to spending a quiet evening with Bella before we headed to Forks in the morning for the annual Independence Day celebration. I was also excited for Bella's big win in court today. I had been watching the news all day from my office and had seen that Bella had been an integral part in solving another case for the FBI by being able to pull enough information from the suspect to get him convicted. So given the fact that this was great for her career and her excitement over our impending trip, I was expecting to arrive home and find my wife happy, smiling and in an incredibly good mood. Truth be told I was also looking forward to a night of celebratory sex since the opportunity for alone time would be extremely limited over the weekend. Bella's libido had increased dramatically and you certainly wouldn't find me complaining.

When I entered the house through the adjoining door in the garage I could instantly tell something was off. Just had a weird feeling I couldn't shake. Bella's car was in the garage so I knew she was home, but the house was entirely too quiet. I tried to shake off the feeling and thought that maybe she had been tired and decided to take a nap. I often found her on the couch asleep while she waited for me if she got home first. Once I reached the living room and she wasn't there I headed upstairs to our room.

As I put my hand on the doorknob to our room I could hear her sobs coming from the other side of the door. Worried, I quickly opened the door and made my way to where she laid crying on our bed, clutching one of my pillows. I lied down next to her and pulled her into my arms. Her small arms instantly wound around my neck and her hands were grasping tightly onto my shirt and hair.

"Sweetness, what's wrong? Are you ok? Are the babies ok?" I asked as I gently pushed her back so I could see her face. She didn't answer but nodded to let me know that both she and the babies were fine. "Then why are you crying? Please tell me so I can help make it better. Being this upset is not good for you or the babies."

She sat back a bit and used the corner of the pillow case to wipe her face. After taking a few calming breaths she found her voice and began to tell me what was wrong. "I don't know if I can do this anymore."

"What are you talking about, Sweetness?" I couldn't for the life of me figure out what she was talking about. Surely she didn't mean us or anything having to do with the babies. I knew without a doubt that she'd never have second thought about either one.

"My job. I don't think I can do it anymore," she mumbled as the tears started to flow again.

"Oh, Sweetness, is that what has you so upset?" I asked as I brushed her hair back from her face.

"Yeah," she answered softly as if she was worried I'd be mad at her.

"Don't be. You don't have to work. You are well aware of the fact that I make more than enough to support our family. I never brought it up because I know how much your job means to you. But if you don't want to work, you don't have to. Or if you just feel as though you can't do it right now, that's alright too. I have no problem at all with you staying home with our children if that is what you choose to do." I kissed her softly to reassure her it was how I really felt and then asked her, "Why don't you tell me what brought this all on?"

Bella blew out a long whoosh of air and filled me in. "Well, I actually started having thoughts of it after my fainting episode. You know as well as I do that my job is not exactly all sunshine and rainbows. It's a highly stressful job and a very demanding one too."

"Yes I do and to be honest with you those things do concern me but you have appeared to be handling it well. You haven't seemed overly stressed or worn out, so what changed?"

"I guess I was handling it ok, but there were some moments that were tough. But I guess what happened today just really worried me."

"What was that?"

"As soon as I got back to the office, Erikson had Emmett and me in his office and had another case immediately lined up for me. And it's just so hard right now with my hormonal overload added to my gift, to deal with my own emotions and try to deal with the emotions I feel from good people around me. But when I have to feel the emotions of sick and demented criminals it's just too much and I worry about my emotional overload affecting the babies. And then I stress over that and it's a never ending cycle."

I nodded and asked, "Is that the only thing? Do you feel like Erikson is working you too hard?"

"No, not under normal conditions. But I guess I am not really normal right now. At least not emotionally or hormonally. Besides that, it's the back to back cases. Before you were in my life I threw myself into my job. I didn't really have a personal life at all other than my relationship with my family and Emmett and Rose. So my job became my life and when I told Erikson today that I needed some time between cases he pretended to understand but I could feel that he didn't really. I felt his shock and surprise. And I am surprised he even tried to hide it knowing about my gift. I guess maybe he was caught off guard with it or he just doesn't see what the issue is since he doesn't have a family of his own. He's never been married and only has himself to answer to. So it's easy for him to make his job his life. And it used to be for me too. But now I have you and our babies too, and as much as I love my job, it isn't all I have anymore."

"So what did he do about the case when you told him?"

"He gave it to the new guy, Tom, but then he came into my office at the end of the day and asked me if I was going to be able to continuing doing my job. I had never really given it much thought before. I thought maybe I might have to cut back on the difficult, more stressful kinds of cases to keep my stress level down, but I hadn't considered that I might not be able to keep working."

"And now you are."

"Yes."

I took a few minutes to think further about everything she had told me. I certainly didn't want her putting any undue stress on herself and risk her or the babies' health in the process. While she did have a nice salary from her job it wasn't necessary. Between my income and the investments I had made over the years I could support us very comfortably. But I was also afraid for her to make a hasty decision and come to regret it later. I knew her job was important to her.

"So do you just want to quit?" I asked her wanting to know what her thoughts were. I had an idea that would allow her to keep her options open, but wanted to see what she was thinking first.

"I do, but I am torn about it. I have loved my job from day one and I worked hard to get my degree and make a place for myself in the bureau. I don't want to just throw it all away. I also know that at times my job can be very dangerous and I hate the thought of something happening to me and leaving our children without a mother."

"You know you being kidnapped was a freak thing and that's not likely to happen again right? You aren't worried about something like that again are you?"

"No not exactly, but think about how my gift affects me. I feel things so much more acutely than anyone else and think about all the situations I could end up in, a hostage crisis, stakeouts and shootouts. While I mostly work with the criminals after they have been arrested, the potential exists for the other situations to arise and I can't say at the last minute I'm not going because I have small children at home."

"I agree, but I also know you are in a very emotional frame of mind right now. I am not trying to discount your feelings and say they aren't valid. Please don't think that at all. However I'm not sure you should just up and quit," I told her.

"Then what do you suggest I do?"

"For starters I think you should go to Emmett and tell him you want a medical leave of absence. I am sure that if you explain everything you just said to me that Dr. Cooper would agree that it's what's best for you and the babies right now."

"Ok, then what?"

"Then you take the next few months while we wait for the babies to get here to think about what you really want to do and possibly explore other options. Like I said you don't have to work. But you can do other things with your degree. You can teach, you can be an actual psychologist. You have options and taking a leave of absence will afford you the time to take a step back and consider them without feeling pressured."

A soft smile graced her face as she reached up to hold mine between her hands. "I knew there was a reason I married you."

"Oh yeah, what's that?"

"Because you are so smart."

"You sure it's not because of my sexy body or because I gave you two babies at once?" I teased her while wiggling my eyebrows.

"Hmm, well those are good ones too," she said now smiling widely.

"I love you, Sweetness."

"I love you too. Thank you for helping me figure things out."

"Just doing my job to take care of you," I told her before lowering my lips to hers. She responded to the kiss instantly. _Maybe I'd get some lovin after all._

_**November 16, 2010**_

It felt as though someone had pushed the fast forward button on our life. The past five months had come and gone in what felt like the blink of an eye. After Bella had taken her leave of absence from work I could see the changes in her almost immediately. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She was able to relax and just enjoy being pregnant without worrying about overstressing herself.

She still hadn't decided whether or not she was going to go back to the FBI after her maternity leave was up, but she had taken a couple of online courses that would help her should she decide to teach.

With an abundance of free time on her hands Bella spent more time with my mother and my sister which strengthened the bond she already had with them. I swore every time Bella spent an afternoon with one or both of them she came home loaded with more and more baby items. Not that either of us would complain. We were both so thrilled ourselves with the fact that we would soon be parents that seeing our families so excited only added to what we were feeling.

As the time went by and we started to accumulate stuff for the babies, we decided we'd better get in gear and get their room ready to welcome them home when the time came. We had originally chosen one room to be the baby's room, but once we found out that we were having two babies, we picked a different room which was a little bigger and would allow them to be in the same room longer. We had read that twins, especially identical twins, shared a deep connection and were very intuitive to each other's needs and actually preferred to be together. So even though they each had their own crib in their room, we also put a smaller portable crib in our room until they were big enough to require their own bed in their own room.

"There, last one," I said to Bella as I placed the last little pink shade on the light fixture hanging from the ceiling in the twins' room. Their room was like a mirror image of itself, with each side matching the other. We had spent the whole day putting the finishing touches on the girls' room and now it was complete.

I climbed down the ladder and then wrapped my arms around Bella's now very prominent belly. "It's perfect," she said with a bright smile on her face as she glanced back at me and kissed the underside of my jaw.

When we informed the family that not only were we having twins, but that they would be identical girls, Alice had wanted to go nuts with lace and frills and pink this and pink that. We had to put a tight leash on her immediately. While Bella and I wanted some pink in the room, we didn't want it to look like someone had spewed Pepto-Bismol everywhere.

We had purchased some of the items to decorate the room ourselves, like the big furniture items, and had gotten the rest as gifts at the baby shower our moms threw for us. The walls were painted a soft buttery yellow and all the furniture was white. The bedding was a quilt with pink, yellow and white with daisy like flowers embroidered on it in several different sizes that were in coordinating colors. Now with everything in its place, the room had a soft, cozy and girly feel to it without being overdone.

A couple of days later Bella and I were at the grocery store. A nasty storm was coming in and was expected to dump an unusual amount snow on us and we wanted to make sure we didn't have to go out unless it was absolutely necessary.

I tried to get Bella to stay home since her back had been bothering her more and more over the course of the last couple of days. In addition to her back ache she had been restless and I had found her up in the middle of the night cleaning stuff that didn't really need to be cleaned.

As we moved through the store, I noticed Bella leaning more and more on the shopping cart.

I grabbed what I wanted off the shelf and made my way over to her. After setting the box of cereal into the cart, I said to her, "Hey are you ok? You look like you are either afraid that cart is gonna float away and you have to hold it down, or its holding you up."

While still gripping tightly onto the cart, she turned just enough to be able to look up at me and I saw tears in her eyes. _Shit,_ I thought. I had only meant to tease her and I had gone too far and now she was about to cry.

"Sweetness," I said gently pulling her against me and kissing her on the top of her head. "I was only playing, baby. I didn't mean to make you cry." _Damn I feel like shit for upsetting her._

"It's not that," she said still grasping tightly to the cart with one hand while the other was holding on to my leather jacket in a death grip.

"What's wrong then?"

"I c…can't move," she forced out.

"What do you mean you can't move?"

"My back. It hurts so bad when I walk now, I can't move."

"Shit. Ok I am gonna take you home."

I was just about to grab her purse and help her walk to the car when a lady who had been standing just a couple of feet from us turned to face us and said, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to eves drop, but I overheard what your wife said and she might be in labor. When I had my first, I had back labor and it was pretty painful."

"Sweetness, are you having contractions?" I asked Bella.

"I don't know, maybe. I just know that shortly after we got here, the more I walked the worse it got."

"Shit, shit, shit," I chanted trying not to freak out. "Ok, grab your purse."

"What?" she cried.

"Grab your purse I am gonna carry you to the car." Even though I had told her to get her purse, in my anxiety and rush to get her to the hospital, I didn't even wait for her to do it herself. I took her purse out of the front of the cart and handed it to her and bent over to pick her up, leaving the cart full of food behind.

"Edward, I'm too heavy, you're going to drop me," Bella whined against my neck as she wrapped her arms around it and held on.

"Would you rather I sit you in the back of the cart and push you out to the car?"

"No," she moaned.

"Ok then shush. Even carrying both our babies inside you, you are not heavy at all. Now hold on until we get to the car."

"But my coat. It's in the cart too" she said.

"I'll buy you a new one," I told her not wanting to take the time to go back and get it. I was surprised she had worn it in the first place since she seemed to be hot all the time right now no matter how cold it was outside.

It was already starting to snow as I carried her to the new SUV we had purchased to replace Bella's small car. I had to go slower than what I wanted to since the parking lot of the grocery store was already getting quite slippery from the light coating of snow that was already covering it. Relief swept over me once I had Bella safely strapped in the car. Despite what she thought, she really wasn't heavy, but in trying to be fast and keep my footing, I had been nervous about slipping on the pavement, sending us both tumbling to the ground. I got in and after I had the car started and the heat on, I used the hands free calling system it had to call Dr. Cooper and then my parents. I was grateful that since both my father and Dr. Cooper had warned us the babies might come early, we already had Bella's bag and the carseats for the girls in the car so that was one thing we didn't have to worry about.

Thirty minutes into what should have only been a fifteen minute drive, we were sitting in bumper to bumper traffic due to some sort of traffic hang-up. Getting frustrated, I pushed the button to lower the power window and stuck my head out to see if I could tell if the traffic was beginning to move ahead of us at all. Being in a SUV allowed me to be up higher than most of the cars around us and I saw police officers ahead directing traffic to turn around and go back the other way.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath worried about how long it was going to take for all of the cars ahead of us to turn around.

"Oh God," Bella suddenly moaned loudly from her seat next to me. I could see her grip the center console between us and knew that she was in pain. "Edward," she cried out next.

"Yes, Sweetness."

"If I wasn't having contractions before I am now," she said with a grunt and then gripped the console again.

I looked in her eyes and saw them full of tears and fear and knew I had to find a way to get us to the hospital fast. Dr. Cooper had told us that one of the benefits, if you wanted to look at it that way, to having twins was that the first stage of labor was usually shorter. He also told us that a faster progressing labor also meant the faster Bella would experience a more severe level of pain and it also shortened our window of time to make sure we got to the hospital in time. And though I had had some emergency medical training in the Army, I did _not_ want to deliver my own children.

I knew there was no more time to sit here and wait. I had to do something to get us out of this traffic clusterfuck we were stuck in. "Stay here," I told her not thinking about the fact she could hardly walk as I jumped out of the car and ran up to where the police man was directing traffic.

A few minutes later I was hurrying back to the car with a police officer following behind me. I guess he didn't believe me when I told him my wife was in labor about to have our twins in the car and had to come see for himself. But once he did he directed the traffic to stop and for me to follow him out of the jam and around the car accident that had caused it.

_**Several hours later.**_

"Come on, Sweetness, just a couple more pushes baby, you can do it," I encouraged Bella.

"I can't. I'm so tired," she whined in between her panted breaths.

I reached down and cupped her face in my hand and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Even dripping with sweat and her hair matted against her forehead from all the work she had done bringing the first of the twins into this world, she was still gorgeous. "Yes you can. This is what we've been waiting for. Sophia is over there missing her sister already. So just give me one more push, Sweetness, so we can hold Alexandria in our arms too. I love you, Bella Cullen, you can do this. Now where is that feisty girl I fell in love with? Find her strength and bring our daughter to us."

Bella had worked hard to bring baby "A", or as we had named her, Sophia, into this world with us. Baby "B", Alexandria, hadn't taken long to crown once she was in proper position. It had been scary for a few minutes when there had been the possibility that Alexandria was going to be born via c-section when they feared that she had moved into a breech position. But after doing a quick ultrasound they saw she was head down and able to be born normally.

Bella let out a whimper but I could see her gathering her strength to give all it took to do what she had to, to give birth to our daughter. She sucked in a long breath of air and when the next contraction hit her she gave it her all and with a loud grunt.

One of the nurses and I helped hold her up, as she pushed with all her might. While pushing, she muttered hoarsely through her gritted teeth, "You're having our next baby, Edward Cullen. If you want any more children they are coming out of you."

I couldn't help chuckling at her comment and saying to her, "If I could do this for you, Sweetness, I would. I hate seeing you in pain, even if it is for such an amazing reason."

"Oh sure you laugh now," she snapped at me as she readied for the next contraction. "I'd like to see you squeeze something the size of a watermelon out something the size of a lemon."

_Fuck that sounded painful, _I thought. And as much as I really did hate the pain she was experiencing, I was so thrilled that she was having our babies.

That was the last thing either of us said as another contraction hit her hard. I watched her face contort as the waves of the contraction washed over her. She took in a long deep breath and then with one last loud grunt she pushed with all her might and a few moments later, Alexandria was born.

Bella slumped back against the bed as she heard our baby girl crying loud and hard just like her sister had been. I felt the tears welling in my eyes again—it was the most wonderful sound I had ever heard.

"Is she ok?" Bella asked.

"She's perfect and beautiful just like her sister and her mother," I told her as I leaned over and kissed her forehead.

Once Alexandria was cleaned and wrapped up, the nurse brought both babies over to us and placed one in Bella's arms and the other in mine.

"Which one is which?" Bella asked with a soft laugh.

I looked back and forth between them and then smiled when I remembered that the nurse had put a little pink stocking hat on Sophia and a purple one on Alexandria.

"You have Lexi," I said calling Alexandria by the nickname we had decided on for her.

"How do you know?"

"Their hats are different colors."

"Oh," she said as she glanced back and forth between our daughters.

Our daughters. I was still coming to terms with the fact I now had twin daughters. But one thing I did know is that it was an amazing feeling. Nothing other than Bella loving me had ever felt this wonderful.

"Hey," I said softly to Bella as I sat perched on the edge of her bed. "Thank you so much, Sweetness, for the most precious gift you could ever give me besides your love."

"Thank you," she said back. "I didn't make them all on my own ya know."

A short while later after Bella had been moved into her room, both our families had been properly introduced to Sophia Anne Cullen, who had been named after Charlie's mother whose first name had been Sophia and my mother whose middle name was Anne. Alexandria Marie was named after Esme's mother whose name was Alexandria and Nana whose middle name was Marie. Even though Bella's middle was also Marie, she insisted that Lexi was named after Nana and not her.

Once everyone had gone home I was lying on Bella's bed with her and holding Lexi as she held Sophia. I looked at Lexi as she slept in my arms and then at Sophia and Bella. Both girls for now appeared to have Bella's dark hair and heads full of it too. We weren't sure what color their eyes were yet, but the nurses said because they were sort of a light color they would be willing to bet that they had my green eyes and not Bella's brown ones. They had Bella's cute little nose and my lips. They were a perfect mix of us both.

Glancing back and forth between them and then at Bella, my chest felt so full of love I thought that it might explode. Bella looked up at me and smiled. As I returned her smile with one of my own, I could see all the love I was feeling being felt by her too in her warm chocolate brown eyes. She had never been more beautiful to me than she was right now with our daughter in her arms.

Four weeks later, Bella and I were finally settling into somewhat of a routine with the girls. She wanted to breast feed them but it was hard for her to keep up with the demands of feeding two. So we alternated their feedings. One would get breast fed and the other a bottle of formula and then at the next feeding it would switch. This allowed the girls to get all of the nutrients of being breast fed, but also allowed me or one of our friends or family members to help out when both girls wanted to eat at the same time, which was quite often.

True to a lot of the things we had read about twins, Sophia and Lexi were very in tune to each other. Bella and I often found ourselves watching them sleep, taking in their angelic little faces as they somehow gravitated towards each other until they were right next to one another as if they were still in Bella's womb. One time we had even caught Lexi sucking on Sophia's thumb in her sleep. It had been the most adorable thing in the world to see.

"I love you so much. You've made me the happiest man in the world," I said softly to Bella as I leaned forward and kissed her lips. We were lying together on our bed with the girls between us feeding them. It was Sophia's turn with her momma so I was giving a bottle to Lexi.

"I love you too. And you've made me the happiest woman in the world," she said back, looking up at me with a huge smile on her face.

I scooted Lexi and myself closer to Bella and Sophia so I could wrap my arm around all three of them and hold them close to me. Looking at them again, the three most beautiful, most precious and most important women in my life right here in my arms, I realized just how truly blessed I was. I couldn't imagine life getting any better than this.

**Hope you loved it as much as I did. Do you think Bella will stick to her words of warning to Edward about not having any more kids or do you think they will have one more, or maybe even more than one more? Let me know. I will get epilogue up as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!**

**EA  
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	32. EpilogueEver Ever After

**Hi everyone, I hope you are all having a fantastic day. Pictures to go with the chapter are on my blog. Please see the author's note at the end. **

**One last time, Stephenie Meyer may own it all, but I sure am glad she shares them all with us. **

_Storybook endings, fairy tales coming true  
Deep down inside we want to believe they still do  
In our secretest heart, it's our favorite part of the story  
Let's just admit we all want to make it too_

_Ever ever after_  
_If we just don't get it our own way_  
_Ever ever after_  
_It may only be a wish away_

_Start a new fashion, wear your heart on your sleeve_  
_Sometimes you reach what's real just by making believe_  
_Unafraid, unashamed_  
_There is joy to be claimed in this world_  
_You even might wind up being glad to be you_

_Ever ever after_  
_Though the world will tell you it's not smart_

_Ever ever after_  
_The world can be yours if you let your heart_  
_Believe in ever after_

_No wonder your heart feels it's flying_  
_Your head feels it's spinning_  
_Each happy ending's a brand new beginning_  
_Let yourself be enchanted, you just might break through_

_To ever ever after_  
_Forever could even start today_  
_Ever ever after_  
_Maybe it's just one wish away_  
_Your ever ever after_

_(I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss)_

_Oh, for ever ever after_

_**Ever Ever After by Carrie Underwood**_

**~*BPOV*~**

_**Easter Sunday 2017**_

I was standing at the kitchen sink peeling eggs to make potato salad for Easter dinner with our family. Hearing loud giggles coming from the other room, I peeked into the family room to check on the kids as they watched cartoons. They were waiting as patiently as they could for everyone else to get here and to take part in the annual Easter Egg Hunt we had started a few years ago. I had a house full with six kids to look after, having my and Edward's four kids plus my two nieces, Natalie, my brother's daughter who was now seven, and Taylor, Jasper and Alice's five year old daughter, who had spent the night to color eggs with the twins. When I had first agreed to the sleepover, Edward was supposed to be here to help but had gotten tied up with work. As soon as I had realized he wasn't going to be here, I almost called it off. But since Jasper was going to be gone too, Alice offered to stay and help when she brought Taylor over. We were both relieved when it went surprisingly well.

Smiling to myself, I watched the girls lost in their own little world and thought about all the changes that had taken place over the last six years. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Edward and I had just celebrated our sixth anniversary. Other times it seemed as though we had been married forever. Our schedules were often crazy now that we had four kids, but we both seemed to thrive over the everyday demands that life threw at us. Whether we were running one of the kids to dance class or music lessons or we were stressing over something at work. No matter if we were having a lazy weekend relaxing at home, or feeling as though time was flying by or creeping at a snail's pace. Sure we had ups and downs and had some arguments along the way like any married couple does. But what remained constant was that we were still madly in love with one another and we were incredibly happy. As far as I was concerned that was all that mattered.

Learning to be parents of twins had come with double the trouble as Jasper often teased Edward and me about. That is until Alice was pregnant back to back years with their two kids. Even if it had been double the work it also came with double the rewards. One of the big pluses had been the fact that they always had someone to play with and even today still had the connection and closeness they had as babies. They still shared a room and we still sometimes found them sleeping together. Both girls had my brown eyes, even though the delivery nurse I'd had thought they'd be green, and for the most part my hair color. Their long brown locks had just a hint of Edward's reddish color to it, making it a very pretty unique hue of auburnish-brown. Edward said it was like chocolate with a swirl of caramel. Sophia and Lexi both loved to sing and dance and they both liked a lot of the same things, like clothes, toys, books and at their current age of five and a half, they both loved school. Edward and I often wondered if their love of school would last through middle and high school and prayed they never pulled the pranks you hear about twins doing—the ones where they switch places and try to fool their teachers or others around them. They had tried it at home on Edward and me once and had just about fooled us until we sat down for dinner that night and the girls picked up their forks to eat. Their pouts had been adorable when they realized they had given themselves away.

Despite their many likenesses they also had a few differences. Lexi was more vocal and outgoing and active, where as Sophia was more quiet and reserved. She wasn't shy or timid, but just a very calm and content little girl. And despite being identical twins, if you knew them well, you could tell them apart easily. Sophia was just about an inch or two taller than Lexi and Lexi's face was just a little rounder than Sophia's. Then there was the big giveaway which was Sophia was left handed and Lexi was right handed. Although right now it was easy for everyone given the fact Lexi was missing one of her front teeth. However with Sophia's being loose already, that wouldn't last for long.

By the time the girls were turning three we had felt like we had gained enough of a breather and a handle on things to get pregnant again. After only one month of trying, I was pregnant and on October third of 2014, Zoey Grace had been born. She was a spitting image of Edward, including having his hair and eye color, though luckily she didn't have his crazy hair colics. Her hair might be the same color as his, but it had my texture and hung in soft waves like mine did. Zoey not only looked like her daddy, she was also very much a daddy's girl. She had been extremely upset at bedtime last night when he hadn't made it home in time to tuck her in like she had thought he would and I knew it broke his heart just as much as it did hers.

Looking around the room once more before I headed back to the kitchen, I took in the sight of the five girls lying around the family room in various relaxed positions as they continued to giggle over whatever insane thing it was that SpongeBob was doing now. Brady was sound asleep upstairs in his room and I was surprised to find that even Zoey was lounging around watching TV with the other girls. She was normally not one to sit around and watch TV, preferring to be up and about playing with something most of the time. It wasn't like she was a hyperactive child, she was just one to always be doing something and was very good at keeping herself entertained even at her young age. But given the fact she hadn't slept well last night, I surmised she was still tired. I wouldn't be surprised if the older girls were a bit tired as well. They had spent the rest of the evening after coloring the eggs, scoping out the back yard, trying to figure out where they thought we'd hide the eggs.

Edward, Jasper, and three of the eight guys that now worked for them had been gone since Wednesday. The business had boomed after they had landed a few big name accounts. One had been doing all the alarm and security camera work for a regionally known retail company and the other had been when one of the Seattle Mariners had hired them to do his new home. The business had been doing really well before, but once word began to spread about these larger accounts they had remained busy and had to hire more men to help keep up with the demands. For this most recent big job they had flown down to California to install a state of the art home security system for some up and coming actor in Hollywood who had just bought a huge estate there. Apparently one of Edward and Jasper's long time client's wife was the makeup artist for one of the film studios and had recommended their company to the actor. They were all supposed to have been home last night, but their flight got delayed due to a severe storm system that was lingering in the LA area, and hadn't gotten in until nearly five this morning. Which was why at nearly eleven in the morning Edward was still sleeping.

As I turned and made my way back into the kitchen I heard a soft whimper coming from the baby monitor on the kitchen table and new that Brady would be waking up soon. While Edward and I loved our three girls with all our hearts, we both had a soft spot for the little surprise that had come into our lives. Last year we had talked about the possibility of having one more baby and getting pregnant this year, once Zoey was three and in preschool this fall. However, apparently it wasn't meant for us to wait. The following month my monthly visitor never came and we discovered we were already pregnant. Then six weeks ago we welcomed our son Brady Charles into the family. We weren't sure what color his eyes were going to be yet and despite his hair color looking as though it was going to be similar to that of the twin's, it was already a certainty that it was going to behave like Edward's. The poor little guy had little tufts of it sticking up in every direction.

Brady had all of us wrapped around his little finger already. Especially Zoey. The twins loved their baby brother and were happy to help out with him whenever asked. But having been through having a new sibling born, it didn't faze them in the slightest. However at first Zoey had been worried that she wouldn't be daddy's baby anymore and at first had wanted us to send him back. All it took though was Edward spending some special alone time with her and explaining to her that he still loved her just as much and that she was his baby girl, and Brady was the baby boy, and she jumped right in and became just as attached to her brother. Now we couldn't get her to not help us with him. Edward and I truly believed that if we'd let her she'd tote him around in her doll stroller and pretend he was one of her dolls too.

I finished the potato salad and had just set the bowl in the refrigerator when I felt the hum of energy course through me like it always did whenever Edward was near. I turned my head and sure enough he was standing in the doorway watching me. "Good, morning sleepy head," I said to him as I moved to the sink to wash my hands so I could properly greet him without getting food on him. Before I could finish though, he had come up behind me and placed his hands on my hips.

Nuzzling his face in my hair, his arms slipped around my waist pulling me against him. Taking in a deep breath, he whispered against my neck, "God I missed you." His voice was husky from having just woken up, but there was also a touch of want, need and longing in there too. We had both missed each other tremendously while he was gone this past week for work.

"I missed you too," I said softly as I relaxed against him and leaned my head back on his chest. I had been so tired from the activities with the kids last night, taking care of a newborn, and then being up a few times with Zoey, that I had barely woken up when he had crawled into bed this morning.

Having missed being in his arms over the past few days, I turned my head giving him better access to the area of my neck he was currently caressing with his lips. As his administrations continued a soft moan escaped from me and I found myself instantly being spun in his arms and his mouth on mine in a searing and demanding kiss. Before I knew it I was perched on the countertop with Edward standing between my legs, pressing his very ready and eager body into mine.

I briefly thought about pushing him away, since the kids were just a couple of rooms away, but the four days he had been gone had dragged on as if they were four months. Even after six years of marriage and four kids, we still had a very difficult time being away from each other for any kind of extended period of time. Fortunately it didn't happen often. Realizing how quickly we were both getting worked up, I finally summoned the strength to pull away from his kiss. It wasn't an easy feat to do.

"Edward," I panted as I tried to catch my breath. "One of the kids could come walking in any minute."

Resting his forehead against mine with his hands cupped firmly around my ass, holding my body against his, he said, "It's been too long since I've kissed you like that and far too long since we've been able to get carried away. I need to make love to you, Sweetness."

"I know. I need you too. Just a little while longer and we'll have the house all to ourselves."

Moving his mouth back to where it had been on my neck, he grumbled, "Thank God Dr. Cooper gave you the all clear on Friday." I could feel him smile against my skin and knew that he was anticipating some quality alone time for us. Over the years our desire for one another hadn't lessened at all and we had both been looking forward to my six week checkup and the go ahead to resume intimate activities from my doctor. However him being out of town on the day I got the permission to do so had been a disappointment to us both. It was simply a bad coincidence, but neither one of us liked it.

Edward groaned in his frustration and I completely understood what he was feeling. The last few months had been hard on both of us. I'd gone into premature labor twice with Brady and as a result Dr. Cooper had forbidden sex the last two months of the pregnancy. This meant it had been nearly fourteen weeks since Edward and I had made love. I had helped him out in other ways as much as I could, but we both agreed that it just wasn't the same as making love.

"Tonight we can begin to make up for all the missed time," I said to him as I took in his appearance. His skin had a warm sun kissed glow to it. Not only had they installed an alarm system on the house for the client in California, but they had done the entire grounds of the estate which meant Edward had spent a good deal of time outside working in the sun. The images my mind created of him shirtless, dripping with sweat in the sun while working outside combined with his freshly showered scent didn't help the need to wait at all.

"Mmm," he purred dragging his lips and his teeth lightly down the side of my neck and across my shoulder sending sparks surging through me all the way to my toes. Thank goodness I was sitting on the counter, because my legs were so shaky from the sensations he was stirring in me that they would surely collapse if I were still standing. "Sweetness, it's gonna take a lot longer than just one night to make up for all that time. Can't we just send the kids off with our parents now and get started?"

His hand snaked up the back of the t-shirt I had on and moved around to cup my breast, making it very difficult to deny him what he wanted. "No," I told him and laughed, trying to shake off the guilt I felt when I saw the sad pathetic pout he had on his face. _Damn I wanted him too_. We had never gone this long without making love and I was looking forward to it just as much as he was.

We were both pulled from our lust induced haze when we heard Brady fussing through the baby monitor. I moved to hop down from the counter but before I could move past Edward, he stopped me. "Finish what you were doing. I'll go get him."

"Ok." Then after a quick peck on the lips he was off up the steps to tend to our son.

I went back to cleaning up my mess from making the potato salad and found myself feeling a bit flushed while anticipating my and Edward's alone time tonight. Two years ago my brother had taken a new position at Seattle Grace and had moved here. With my brother and me both now living here in the city, my parents purchased a condo here so that they could come and spend time with us and their grandchildren without feeling as though they were imposing on either my brother's or my household. Because Edward and I hadn't really been able to celebrate our anniversary this year since I had just given birth to Brady a few weeks before it, my parents were going to take Brady home with them overnight tonight and Carlisle and Esme were taking our three girls home with them. Then tomorrow Carlisle and Esme were taking the girls to The Ringling Bros. Circus along with Alice, Jasper and their two kids.

I shook my head at myself thinking how we were acting like sex starved teens and then laughed again when I remembered how my co-worker Stacy had described Edward and I in the exact same manner when she had seen me at the hospital for my six week checkup this past Friday. She was much more than just my co-worker. She had become a close friend and was very much aware of how the complications I'd had during my pregnancy with Brady had affected my and Edward's intimacy.

After the twins had been born, I'd seen exactly how demanding life as the mother of twins was even with the amount of helping hands I had. Because of those demands, I had resigned permanently from my position with the Bureau. The jobs of working in the FBI as well as the one of a mother of two were incredibly demanding ones. I didn't want either my professional or personal life to suffer because of sacrifices made to accommodate one or the other. When it came down to it, it had been an easy decision—my children came first.

Shortly after the girls turned a year old, Carlisle came to me with a proposition to work in the hospital's social services department. The director of the department wanted to go part time to accommodate her growing family's demands and was looking for someone to help fill in the gap. She basically wanted a co-director to share her duties and responsibilities with, each of us only working part time. At first I was a bit hesitant. I had grown to love my time at home as a fulltime wife and mother. However when Carlisle informed me that the hospital had an onsite daycare facility where I could take the girls to work with me, and peek in on them as often as I wanted, the idea began to grow on me.

I met with Stacy and found out exactly what my job would entail and the hours she would need me. Afterwards, I went home and discussed the pros and cons with Edward. The next day I called Stacy and after negotiating a couple of things, I took the job. Now having been there for almost five years, Stacy and I had become close friends.

"Here he is mommy," Edward said as he strolled back into the kitchen and over to me with our son in his arms. It was a mesmerizing sight seeing him with our baby in his arms. "He's freshly changed and very hungry. Do you want to breast feed him or want me to give him a bottle?"

I leaned down and kissed Brady softly on his chubby little cheek. "Would you mind feeding him? I still need to shower before everyone gets here."

"Nope. You go do what you need to and I'll feed him and hang with the kids."

"Thanks. Love you," I said as I gave him and Brady a quick kiss.

"Love you too."

I was about halfway up the stairs when I heard Zoey squealing, "Daddy," and Edward's excited reply to her, "Love-bug." It warmed my heart hearing them and the twins soon joining in as they too realized their daddy was home. He was an amazing father just like I knew he would be.

A few hours later Edward and I were sitting in our living room surrounded by our families as we waited for Emmett and Rose to arrive. Edward, my father, his father, my brother and Jasper were all engrossed in the playoff hockey game that was on the television. Zoey was fast asleep on her daddy's lap as she sucked on her thumb. Mitchell was on Jasper's lap trying to understand the ins and outs of hockey that Jasper and the other guys were telling to him. My and Edward's moms were cooing over their new grandson while Brady slept completely oblivious, and Alice, Jane and I were just chatting about random stuff going on in our lives.

Jane and Alice began chatting about something to do with some fashion magazine when I noticed how Nana had the girls all sitting at her feet listening intently to the story she was telling them. Nana had the twins and Natalie deeply enraptured with a story about a prince and princess who met on a beautiful tropical beach under a full moon. Nana's voice was very animated as she weaved a tale about how the prince had saved the princess from the evil knight who escaped the dungeon he had been banished to and how he tried to capture the princess by feeding her poisonous apples. I let out a snicker when I saw my nephew Landon who was now ten sitting next to them, pretending to be engrossed in his hand held video game, but I had seen him more than once pause and pay attention to what Nana was telling the girls.

"What?" Jane asked.

I pointed to Landon and the three of us were laughing quietly as they saw him pretending to not be listening too. It really was cute and I kind of felt a little bad for him in the awkward stage he was in. At ten he wasn't a little kid anymore, but he wasn't a teen yet and Jane had said he'd been struggling with that a little lately. But I knew her and my brother were great parents and they'd get him through it.

The doorbell rang, drawing all of our attention to it. Sitting closet to the door, Jasper jumped up to it. A few moments later, a glowing and very, very pregnant Rose followed by Emmett and Edward entered the room. I got up and hugged them both.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Rose while rubbing my hand across her very prominent belly.

"Ready for it to be over, but hanging in there. You know what its like," she replied with a smile and a playful hint of sarcasm.

"Yes, I do," I told her because I truly did. Rose was expecting twins any day now.

They were having fraternal twins, a boy and a girl, and had chosen the names Lucas and Lily for them. After trying and trying to get pregnant for a couple of years, Rose and Emmett had sought the help of a fertility specialist. They had found that Rose wasn't ovulating like she should and with the help of some fertility meds they were now about to become parents. She was nearly thirty-nine weeks pregnant and was scheduled to have labor induced on Friday if she hadn't gone into labor by then. Edward and I were both thrilled for them and couldn't wait to see Emmett and all his silliness take on the role of being a father. We were positive it would come with many comical moments and certainly some heartwarming ones too.

Knowing that everyone was now here, the kids all popped up and started to beg to have the egg hunt before we ate instead of after.

Having had the fun of dealing with all of them coloring the eggs last night, I told all the kids they had to ask Edward.

"Please, Daddy," Sophia and Lexi begged with their bottom lips sticking out and their eyes all sad.

I leaned over and whispered to Alice, "They are going to be deadly with that pout when they get older."

"Ya think?" Alice said with a giggle, causing myself and Jane to laugh with her.

"Come on, Uncle Edward," Natalie said joining in with the twins.

The three girls soon were joined by Mitchell and Taylor. Edward had all of them begging and he was sitting there trying to act as though he didn't hear a thing they were saying. But I could see the corners of his lips twitching and fighting off a smile. I knew that it was just a matter of seconds before he caved to them.

The only thing that was more entertaining than the scene playing out with the kids and Edward, was watching Landon roll his eyes at them but jump up like something bit him the second Edward gave the ok for them to do the egg hunt first.

The ruckus caused by the six kids bolting through the house and out the back door startled Zoey awake. She looked around dazed for a few seconds but then rubbed her eyes and smiled brightly at her daddy.

"Wanna go find some Easter eggs with Papa Charlie?" my dad asked Zoey as he held his hands out to her.

She nodded her head vigorously and reached out her small hands towards her grandfather.

Edward and I followed everyone outside to watch the kids. They were scattered all around the yard with their plastic baskets in their hands as they searched high and low for the eggs I had hidden after they had been in bed asleep last night.

I stopped at the deck rail and watched them. It was easy to tell when one of them had found an egg. They would either holler out that they had or you would see the grin spread across their faces saying it all.

Brady started to fuss again, causing Esme to bring him over to where Edward and I were watching the older kids. "I think someone wants to eat, Mommy," she said to me as she handed the squirming little guy to me. She kissed him on the head and told him she loved him and then I took him into the house to nurse.

As I sat down in the rocking chair in his room, I noticed how quiet the house was with everyone outside. It didn't happen often so I decided to take advantage of the few minutes of peace. I closed my eyes and rested my head on the back of the rocker allowing myself a few minutes to relax as Brady nursed. Once Brady had finished eating, I placed him on my shoulder and sat their rocking him to sleep. I wasn't quite ready to give up the little bit of quiet time I was getting just yet.

I didn't know how much time had gone by, but I was just about to doze off when I heard Edward's velvety voice whispering in my ear. "Do you know how beautiful you look right now?"

As I opened my eyes and smiled up at him, I was met with his lips brushing against mine. "Hi," I whispered to him when he pulled away. He took Brady from me and laid him in his crib before walking back over to the chair and pulling me up out of it and into his arms.

"I love you," I murmured to him just before his mouth captured mine in a soft but demanding kiss that gave me a glimpse of what was to come tonight when we were finally able to make love again.

When he broke for air, he held me tightly in his arms. It was my favorite place to be. "I love you too, Sweetness, so much."

"How much?" I asked him. We often teased each other that I loved him more or he loved me more and so on.

This time instead of teasing me back he looked down at me, his eyes so full of love and adoration and said, "You want to know how much?"

"Mmm hmm," I said softly while nodding and then rising up on my toes and placing a soft kiss on his lips.

Holding me tighter with one arm and cupping my cheek with his other hand he gazed into my eyes as if he were looking straight into my heart and said, "No one's ever loved anyone as much as I love you."

"Forever," I whispered back to him.

"And ever and ever after," he whispered back before leaning in and kissing me again.

I knew he was right too. No matter what happened in our lives, our love would never fade.

**~*The End*~**

**Thank you to my two wonderful betas who are so much more than just betas to me. There are both dearly treasured friends as well.  
**

**_Hope4more_, its scary how well we know each other and how often it really seems as though we are reading each others minds. I guess it really shouldn't surprise us anymore huh? I can't thank you enough for all the help you have given me as we took E&B on yet another adventure. And yes I really am sorry I made you wait the entire story for them to have babies. Do you think they have enough now? ;)  
**

**_My-Bella_, my PIC, its probably a little scary the way we sneak into each other's heads too. It's been so great having you along with me this time. Not only have you helped me tremendously through this ride we took E&B on, you have taught me a lot too.(even if I still don't know where the hell to put all those damn commas) I know that I am a better writer for it. **

**_Noelle_Seven_, thank you for all the amazing pictures, manips and many color enhancements you've made for me and for helping me to be play psychologist to Bella and most of all, for being a great friend as well.  
**

**To you, all of my readers, I will never be able to thank you enough for all the love and support you have given to me and TLA over the course of the story. There were many times I thought you guys were going to rip my head off, chew it up and spit it back out at me, but you didn't. You just kept on with the amazing support you had given me all the other times. Whether it was through an amazing review, pimping me out to anyone and everyone, or just telling me "great chapter", I want you to know it was truly appreciated. **

**I don't have immediate plans to start another fic right away like I did last time. I do have a plot bunny dancing in my head, but I have to do some research and figure some things out before I can even begin to write it. So I wouldn't expect it before the end of the summer. However if you want to know when it's up, be sure to put me on author alert. I am sure once it gets close to time I will post something on my blog as can find the link on my profile page.  
**

**In the meantime all three of the authors above, _My-Bella, Hope4more _and_ Noelle_Seven_, all have some amazing stories for you to read. I even got to help with a couple of them.  
**

**For the immediate future I will be adding a couple of chapters to my Valentine's Day one shot, _My Forever Valentine_, to tie up all the loose ends in it. So if you haven't read it yet, now's your chance. It will probably be a week or two before I update it. I also plan to do the outtake that I know many of you have been waiting for from _The Game That Changed It All._ I think it's finally time we let Baseballward have his day of honor and get inducted into the baseball hall of fame.**

**At this time I don't have any plans for any outtakes for TLA, but if there is something you'd like to see, let me know. And one last thing, TLA has been nominated for several awards over on The Sunflower Awards, if you'd like to you can vote **

http:/www(dot)thesunflowerawards(dot)blogspot(dot)com

**So please, one last time, let me know what ya thought. **

**Thanks again,**

**Eternally Addicted  
**


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